The day started well in Finmeccanica's Piazza Affari which in the morning recorded an increase of more than 2%, placing itself among the first stocks of a Ftse Mib basket in slightly negative territory. The shares of the defense giant have been boosted by the sale of Ansaldo Energia to the CDP's Fondo Strategico Italiano (FSI) at a fixed reference price of 777 million euros and an earn-out of up to 130 million euros which will accrue over the years 2014, 2015 and 2016, subject to the achievement by Ansaldo Energia of the economic results of the business plan already approved by the company.
FSI will acquire almost all of Ansaldo Energia's share capital, i.e. 99,55%, in the following manner: 84,55% (39,55% of Finmeccanica and 45% of First Reserve) at closing, expected within the end of 2013; the remaining 15% stake, owned by Finmeccanica, through a put/call option mechanism, between 30 June 2017 and 31 December 2017.
The transaction has already received the approval of JP Morgan, which raised the rating on the stock from "underweight" to "neutral", setting the new target price at 4,95 euros.
