A2A is confirmed as the manager of gas distribution in Milan. The Lombard multiutility was awarded the most important gas tender in Italy (contract value equal to approximately 1,3 billion euros spread over 12 years), thus beating 2i Rete Gas, controlled by F2i and participated by the Ardian fund. A2A surpassed 2i Rete Gas by almost five points on the technical offer front, while the other 'leg' of the proposal presented to the Municipality of Milan, the purely economic one, would have recorded a substantial tie between the two operators.
Thus, about a year after the start of the tender, A2A prevailed, confirming its leadership of the territorial area (Atem) of Milan 1, which includes the Lombard capital and six other municipalities in the hinterland (Baranzate, Bollate, Cinisello Balsamo, Corsico, Novate Milanese and Sesto San Giovanni) for around 839 end users, even if it will still take a month or so for the formal award. For the energy group, the coveted gas in Milan is worth around 70 million Ebitda a year.
The outcome coming from Palazzo Marino, which is also the majority shareholder of A2A together with the Municipality of Brescia, was eagerly awaited by the market since it is the first 'significant' gas tender to be awarded in the face of a process that at national level , due to bureaucracy and appeals of all kinds, proceeds slowly. Also for this reason, all the big names in the sector are trying to keep pace with their respective industrial plans (which estimated a much higher pace for gas tenders) by resorting to M&A.
It should be remembered that 2i Rete Gas itself was awarded gas distribution in Como in 2016 and, above all, last October, it won the fierce tender for the assets of Gas Natural in Italy. Specifically, it had taken over Nedgia, which deals with gas transport with around 460 thousand delivery points especially in Southern Italy, for an enterprise value of 727 million euros. An operation that had allowed 2i Rete Gas (controlled by F2i and participated by the Ardian fund) to reach 4,5 million customers, consolidating its second place on the Italian market behind Italgas.
