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MILAN, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Italian industrial group Fiat has bought out the stakes Acea and Telefonica hold in their joint telecoms venture Atlanet, adding 22 million euros to its debt pile, the three companies said on Thursday.
Fiat, which previously owned 33 percent of Atlanet, has been selling non-automotive assets to fund a turnaround of its loss-mired car unit and slash debt, which stood at 26.7 billion euros at the end of June.
The group already uses Atlanet for its telecommunications system and said the buy -- which essentially brings its telecoms service in-house -- would ensure "continued excellent service both in terms of quality and finances".
In a statement, Fiat, Telefonica and Acea said they would each keep their proquota share of the Italian UMTS licence Atlanet bought in 2000 as part of the IPSE consortium.
Atlanet owned 12 percent of IPSE, one of five consortia that were awarded an Italian third-generation licence, but which has not yet set up a UMTS network in the country. Apart from its stake in Atlanet, Telefonica owned 39 percent of IPSE.
The companies said Atlanet was expected to generate 165 million euros in revenues this year.