MILAN, April 20 (Reuters) - Maximo Ibarra is to step down as chief executive of pay-TV service Sky Italia and will leave the company owned by U.S. media group Comcast after the end of July, an internal memo showed. In the message to staff, seen by Reuters, Stephen van Rooyen, Sky’s CEO for the UK and Europe, said the search for a new Italy head had already begun and he would help lead the transition with help from Karl Holmes, chief operating officer for Europe. Two industry sources said Ibarra was headed for Engineering, an Italian IT services provider that changed hands in February when investment firms Apax Partners and Neuberger Berman sold a controlling stake to Bain Capital. Sky Italia earlier this month unveiled a reorganisation plan that envisages cutting a quarter of its workforce over the next four years. The group, which is Italy’s top pay-TV player, last month suffered a blow when top flight soccer league Serie A awarded the bulk of domestic screening rights to streaming services DAZN.