While awaiting the inauguration of the Genoa bridge, the fate of Atlantia, which will continue to be announced until further notice assigned management by the infrastructure, they crash into Piazza Affari. In the middle of the day, the share, already suspended, travels on the Piazza Affari price list at around 11,31 euros with a discount of 15,5%, further deteriorating compared to the opening. The shares (-44% since the beginning of the year) are thus approaching the minimum (9 euros in March).
It is the confirmation that, pending tomorrow's Council of Ministers, not even the shadow of an agreement is looming between the majority shareholders of the holding, i.e. the Benetton family, and the government, starting with Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte who has now embraced the intransigence of the Five Star movement on the issue. In particular Conte, interviewed by Done, he judged Autostrade per l'Italia's request is "unacceptable". to request changes to a provision on indemnity due to the concessionaire in the event of non-compliance which would have made Autostrade 'unbankable'.
But the premier, unlike the Pd component of the executive, has not even shown that he appreciates it the news of the proposal that AspI mailed to the executive Saturday afternoon to renew the grant. A package that provides for the company to put a total of 3,4 billion on the plate to close the dispute and restart the company with a plan that provides for 14,5 billion in investments and 7 billion in maintenance over the duration of the agreement until 2038.
The "serious" proposal - as the president of Edizione, Gianni Mion, defined it (who, however, never had any illusions) - aimed at renewing the concession until 2038 (provided the compensation value remains revised in the case of revocation, unilaterally reduced to 7 billion), however, does not solve the political crux of the matter: the exit of the Ponzano Veneto group from Aspi represents a political objective which the Five Stars do not intend to give up. And the same also applies to the prime minister who intends to consolidate his position. And so little matters that the Benettons have declared their willingness to evaluate a different shareholding structure, but not the definitive exit from the company that Atlantia currently controls 88%. Prime Minister Conte calls for the complete ouster of the Benettons with the nationalization of Aspi. Indeed, as the Deputy Minister of Infrastructures, Giancarlo Cancelleri argued, "the Benettons can leave or not, but if they don't leave, there is revocation".
That is, it risks skipping the prospect of an agreement that provides for the transfer of control of Aspi to Cdp and partners (Macquarie, pension funds, perhaps the Post Office) to meet the requests of the belly (or if you want, of the pentastellata soul) under the denominator of the revocation of the concession with the prospect of Anas taking over the concession.
It opens like this a dangerous scenario marked by appeals which could involve, beyond the Benettons, the other illustrious shareholders of Atlantia, from Allianz to Silk Road, and undermine Italy's confidence in the markets. Even worse, as the CEO of Atlantia Carlo Bertazzo has already said, in case of revocation "Aspi will default the next day" under the amount of at least 20 billion euros, including bonds, bank loans and supply credit. Unless the State decides to take on that debt, the last thing the state coffers need.
From here the search for a last minute solution. The idea that surfaced yesterday is that of a capital increase for Autostrade, which would strengthen the company, lifting it from the limbo of junk status, and would allow the toughest wing of the Five Stars to respect their political oath not to give a single euros to the Benettons. But the game of these days, warns Banca Imi, "is really unpredictable". In the meantime, Atlantia is starting to become an increasingly Spanish company, thanks to Abertis (which is worth more than Aspi) and Cellnet. For Equita sim, the target is 15 euros, according to hold.
