The merger "is a concrete hypothesis, but we still need to reflect on it," Undersecretary of State Alberto Barachini told reporters at an event in Parliament.

Another source, who prefers to remain anonymous, said the decree could allow public broadcaster Rai to reduce its stake in Rai Way to below 30 percent.

The newspaper La Repubblica first wrote the news, which pushed Rai Way's stock up more than +6 percent.

Rai holds 65 percent of Rai Way, while EI Towers is 60 percent controlled by the F2i fund and 40 percent by the Berlusconi family's MediaForEurope (Mfe).

The source added that the government intends to keep the towers under state control, without providing further details on how the aggregation would take place.

An earlier plan for the deal had envisioned an extraordinary dividend worth a total of 400 million euros for Rai Way shareholders.

In January, Rai had said it wanted to sell a 15 percent stake in Rai Way to raise resources for the new business plan.

According to some Treasury sources, after the announcement the sale of the stake would not prevent Rai from exploring an alliance between Rai Way and EI Towers at a later stage.

One option being discussed within the governing coalition would see Rai sell shares in Rai Way to one or more state-backed investors, some sources said, in line with what Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti recommended last July.

(Translated by Laura Contemori, editing Claudia Cristoferi)