Il decree for the separation of Snam from Eni will arrive on May 25th. This was reported by a financial source close to the dossier, after this morning the Minister of Economic Development, Corrado Passera, had spoken of "short times to remove any uncertainty in the hands of two of the largest Italian companies".
After the split, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti will acquire the controlling stake in Snam's capital. But on one condition: "If requested by the Dpcm and the conditions are met - said today the president of the CDP, Franco Bassanini, by the board of Assonime – we will do the operation in such a way as to do not subtract even one euro from resources for the economy. We intend to work so that the companies in which we are shareholders, all of which are strategic for the country, are in a position to grow, develop and compete on new markets. This applies to Eni, Terna and Snam".
According to the Financial Times, with the passage of around 30% into the hands of the Cassa, the company that manages the pipeline network would be substantially renationalised. The CEO of the CDP replied directly to the British newspaper, Giovanni Gorno Tempini, who in an interview with Corriere della Sera spoke of "unfounded criticism" because "today Snam is 52% owned by Eni, which in turn is 26% controlled by us and 4% by the Ministry of Economy. At the end of the operation, Snam shares on the market will be much more numerous than today".
When asked why the transition to CDP is preferable rather than to Terna (of which Cassa is already the main shareholder with 29,9%), Gorno Tempini replies that "Terna should invest in its core business", while "Cdp can be the best shareholder for Snam: it has around three billion in free capital and its system can attract other private capital”.
As for the possible disbursement for 30% of Snam, equal to 3,5 billion, the CEO replies that “the cash impact when fully operational will be neutral for the CDP. Not one euro will be subtracted from the financing of infrastructure and small and medium-sized enterprises“. As for a possible problem with the Antitrust, considering that Cdp would be the first shareholder at the same time of Eni and Snam, Gorno Tempini recalls that "the Cassa has no representatives on the board of Eni".
