Following months of speculation, Vodafone Group has confirmed it's in exclusive talks with Swisscom for the sale of its Italian unit.

The telco revealed this morning (February 28) that the parties have agreed that Swisscom will acquire Vodafone Italy for an enterprise value of €8 billion ($8.66bn) on a debt and cash-free basis.

Such a deal would be subject to customary closing adjustments, added Vodafone.

If the deal goes through, it would see Vodafone's Italian subsidiary combine with Swisscom's mobile operator Fastweb, which has an estimated 3.4 million mobile customers in Italy, while Vodafone has closer to 20 million.

"Vodafone has engaged extensively with several parties to explore market consolidation in Italy and believes this potential transaction delivers the best combination of value creation, upfront cash proceeds, and transaction certainty for Vodafone shareholders," said Vodafone in a statement.

"There can be no certainty that any transaction will ultimately be agreed. If required, a further announcement will be made when appropriate."

Vodafone has pushed in the past few years to consolidate its operations across several markets.

The company identified Italy as one of those markets, and earlier this month rejected Iliad Group's proposal for a merger.

A 50-50 proposal had been put forward by Iliad Group, owned by French tycoon Xavier Niel, back in December.

In the UK, the company is poised to merge with Three to become the UK's biggest telco in a £15bn ($19bn) deal, though this deal is being probed by antitrust regulator the Competition and Markets Authority, which opened a formal investigation last month.

Vodafone Group chief executive Margherita Della Valle has previously hinted at plans to "simplify the business."

In October the company confirmed it has agreed to sell its Spanish business to UK investment firm Zegona for $5.3 billion.

Vodafone previously exited the Hungarian market, and finalized an exit from Ghana this year, selling a majority stake to Telecel Group.