Telecom Italia is about to kick off the roadshow for its €700m ($590m) asset-backed (ABS) bond issue backed by phone charges, the first ABS deal of its kind in Europe.

The launch was put back at the beginning of the year to give the company and its bankers more time to structure the transaction and to avoid bumping into other telecom deals. WestLB will be lead manager on the transaction with BNP Paribas and Italian partner Finanziaria Internazionale also involved as arrangers.