The French government has also given the green light to the sale of ANSALDOBREDA and 40% of Ansaldo Sts by Finmeccanica in the Japanese way Hitachi. Il Sole 24 Ore writes it, specifying that – after the go-ahead from the Chinese Antitrust and that from the US State Department – this was the last authorization necessary to close the operation.
The green light from Paris was needed because the assets put up for sale by Finmeccanica are considered strategic by the French Ministry of the Economy, which carefully evaluated the operation also from an employment point of view. In fact, Ansaldo Sts France has over 750 employees in the country, out of the 3.799 of the entire group.
At this point there are only a few small bureaucratic steps in other states where the group works to archive the operation. The deal should be closed by the end of 2015, in line with the roadmap announced in February by the CEO of Finmeccanica, Mauro Moretti.
The next step will be the shareholders' meeting of Ansaldo Sts, which will most likely be held on 2 November. At that time, the Finmeccanica directors will leave: CEO Stefano Siragusa should remain in his place, while the CEO of Hitachi Rail, Alistair Dormer, could be co-opted for the presidency.
Finally, between November and December, Hitachi will launch the tender offer on the remaining 60% of the capital of Ansaldo Sts.
