Difficult day for Poste Italiane's stock on the stock exchange, which at the end of the morning lost 2,9% to 6,545 euros. The sales were triggered by rumors about the possible sale on the market of a new tranche of securities in the hands of the Treasury, the controlling shareholder.
According to what was reported by Il Sole 24 Ore over the weekend, the Ministry of the Economy is evaluating the opportunity to sell a further stake in Poste Italiane by the end of the year: a project that could be included among the privatizations of the Economics and Finance in April and which would be necessary to allow the State to hit the target of revenues from privatizations even without the listing of Ferrovie dello Stato.
The hypothesis would concern the placement of 30% with the Treasury which would come to hold 35% from the current 65%. Based on the Decree of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of May 2014, the State's shareholding in Poste cannot be less than 60%: therefore a new Dpcm would be needed to change this share.
Last October, the Treasury placed the first 35% of Poste Italiane at 6,75 euros per share, raising over 3 billion euros. The stock, after reaching a high of 7,2 euros between December and January, fell in part due to the sharp decline in price lists as well as some rumors about a (denied) intervention by Poste in Mps: the lows were reached below 5,2 euros in mid-February and then triggered a 30% rise in the following forty days.
Based on the prospectus, the Treasury cannot sell Poste shares for the first 180 days following their debut on the Stock Exchange and therefore until the end of April.
