Il Tesoro sent a letter to Cassa Depositi e Prestiti to formalize the start of the disposal of state investments in Eni and Enav. Il Sole 24 Ore wrote it. A CDP source then confirmed to the Reuters agency that the Cassa is evaluating the text. The Board of Directors that will have to evaluate the proposal is convened for the 22th November, but the sale will be formalized by a subsequent meeting of the Board of Directors to be held in December. In the meantime, the Treasury will have to issue a ministerial decree authorizing the operations.
The CDP, despite being approximately 83% controlled by the Ministry of the Economy, does not fall within the perimeter of the Public Administration, therefore the purchase by the Cassa of shares in public companies contributes to lowering the state debt.
For Enav, the company of controllers listed since July 2016 and whose capitalization is just over 2 billion, the Treasury controls 53,37% and intends to sell 50,37% to CDP. In the case of Eni, however, 3,3% should change hands, with the Ministry of the Economy retaining 1%.
According to il Sole, on the basis of the current stock market values, from these operations - which should be completed by December - the Treasury could collect 2,8 billion euros.
In the Economic and Financial Document, the Government indicated that in terms of privatization the goal is to collect a figure equal to 2017 percentage points of GDP in 0,2, approximately 3,5 billion euros.
17% of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti is in the hands of various banking foundations and in recent days, on the occasion of the World Savings Day, the president ofAcri, Giuseppe Guzzetti, had said he was in favor of the acquisition by the CDP of companies that – like Enav – produce profits and distribute dividends.
On the other hand, the Treasury has chosen to maintain a direct equity presence in companies it deems strategic: in this way it will be able to play a decisive role in presentation of lists for the election of Boards.
