The Council of Ministers today approved the divestment decree announced Wednesday by Prime Minister Mario Monti. There are two basic measures. First point: the transfer by the Treasury to Cassa depositi e prestiti of the public shares in the companies Fintecna, Sace and Simest. Second point: the creation of a real estate fund to which "all" public buildings will be transferred, "both of the State (including the barracks), and of the local authorities (including those of the Municipalities), so that they are “valued and sold, also with the help of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. The owners of the properties will have shares in the fund and liquid resources to be used to reduce their debt".
From the operation between the CDP and the Ministry of the Economy, which will be completed within four months, they will come well 10 billion euros. The amount will be usedto debt reduction – reads a note from Palazzo Chigi -, including that deriving from the commercial debt in favor of companies”.
The Deputy Minister of Economy, Vittorio Grilli, underlined that the operation will have “a significant impact on revenues. We estimate about 10 billion from this sale. The initial part within a month”, with a first down payment of 60%. Thanks to this revenue, "we would reduce public debt, both that of government bonds and that of public administration debts".
As for other important state holdings, such as those in Eni, Enel and Finmeccanica, “at the moment there are no disposal plans – continued Grilli -. It doesn't mean that it can't happen, but we are focusing on other assets”.
Meanwhile, the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti will deploy two vehicles to enhance public assets with an initial endowment of one billion each. The first, Vehicle Public Utility, aimed at acquiring minority stakes with governance powers in local utilities, was created within the Fondo Strategico Italiano (FSI). The second, Local Authorities Real Estate Enhancement Vehicle, managed by the Cdp real estate asset management company, is set up in the form of a Real Estate Fund intended for the sale of the properties of local Authorities.
