Italian for sale? MSc in the front row. After seeing slip the opportunity to attempt to acquire Ita Airways together with Lufthansa – with the Italian State which in the end preferred to appoint the Certares fund – MSC changes its objective and aims at train world: the global maritime giant has in fact targeted Italo, with the aim of expanding its investments in logistics and passenger transport towards Italian ports. This is what Corriere learns from financial and industrial sources familiar with the dossier, according to which a potential agreement between the parties could have a value between 6 and 7 billion euros.
MSC's plans cross with theindiscretion of the Bloomberg agency on the possibility for Global Infrastructure Partners (owner of Italo) to sell the transport company for 4 billion euros. But according to financial sources the figure would be a bit off the market, that is too low and they raise the bar to 5 billion which MSC could add a 25-30% "premium" for a total value of 6,5 billion. At the moment MSC has preferred not to comment.
Italian for sale? The purchase in 2018 for about 2,4 billion
US infrastructure fund Global Infrastructure Partners bought it in 2018 New Passenger Transport — the company that manages Italo's trains — for around 2,4 billion euros, together with a debt of 1,2 billion. According to sources, between the end of the year and the beginning of 2023, the GIP could start the process to receive expressions of interest in Italo. Will MSC succeed this time? It is not easy given the large competition interested in Italo: Jp Morgan Asset Management, Blackrock ed eqt they are ready to attack the Italian company. Which in the event that it passes under the ownership of MSC could be integrated into Medway Italy, the railway company of the group which has also obtained authorization to move trains in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Msc and the agreement with Fs
In this way, the giant would expand the freight transport network and implement train-air-ship intermodality for passengers-holidaymakers. The Swiss company's interest in rails is evident, also in the light of the memorandum of understanding with state Railways with Fs in recent days to "verify the possibility and mutual interest in carrying out a commercial and operational partnership project aimed at developing combined maritime transport".
Italo's numbers
Italo closed 2021 with 488 million euros in revenues and a positive operating result of 91 million and a net profit of 104,4 million. The Italian State has decided to allocate 178 million for Italo trains - as compensation for the damages suffered by the pandemic - in addition to the 145,6 million already allocated for the first phase of the Covid (March-June 2020). In 2021 i Italian trains they carried 8,7 million people.
