Atlantia and for the subsidiary Autostrade per l'Italia Group Benetton today promises to be the day of truth. The Venetian family, which controls Atlantia, the infrastructure holding company which has motorways and airports in its portfolio not only in Italy, wants to clean up and go to the showdown with the managers after the tormented story of the collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genoa before and, more recently, gods false reports on the maintenance and surveillance of the infrastructures under its management.
Today they meet urgently both the board of Edizione and of Autostrade per l'Italia but the message of the last few hours of the Benettons is clear and suggests that the redde rationem is now the order of the day. Here is what the Benettons' note says: "In the light of very recent events, Edizione - which is the Benetton holding company and the reference shareholder of Atlantia - will take without hesitation and immediately all the dutiful and necessary initiatives, also to safeguard the credibility, reputation and good name of its shareholders and subsidiaries and investee companies in relation to the various investigations underway after the tragedy of the collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genoa".
This time it really could some heads fall, starting with the super-manager of Atlantia, John Castellucci who for some time no longer enjoys the unconditional trust of the Benetton family and who perhaps already today may have to leave his position as CEO.
But it is said that the showdown at Atlantia will only be resolved with the dismissal of the most exposed managers. We have been talking about for a long time reorganization of the whole group but last night the Benetton family, on which it seems destined to fall the at least partial revocation of the motorway concessions by the Conte 2 government, held a deny the rumor, widely circulating, the spin-off or sale of the subsidiary Autostrade per l'Italia, for the purchase of which the intervention of the Australian Fund Macquarie, specialized in infrastructure investments, was assumed. But the Benettons deny it. However, they do not rule out a possible crackdown at the top of Atlantia.
Today's boards of directors of Edizione and Autostrade – to which the stock exchange looks with trepidation – will perhaps say a clear word on the matter. But then it will also be necessary to check the side effects, starting with Alitalia, where Atlantia's participation has become much less certain.
SECURITY UPDATE TRAINING
Today, Tuesday 17 September, the CEO of Atlantia, Giovanni Castellucci, should step back.
