Despite the bad news arrived yesterday from the Antitrust and the Energy Authority, the Snam stock is not affected. At 15.04 the Snam share is quoted at 3,752 with an increase of 1,02.
The Antitrust yesterday made it known that it did not like it the operation of joint venture between Italgas (company controlled by Snam) and AcegasAps aimed at the purchase of Isontina Reti Gas, gas distributor operating in the north east of theItaly. According to the Antitrust, the operation would lead to the creation of a dominant position in charge of Isontina Reti Gas because it would shrink competition in the markets for future tenders for the concession of the natural gas distribution service in the territorial areas of Gorizia, Trieste, Pordenone and Padua. Italgas replied that “the reaction of this joint venture, in our view, it would have helped Snam achieve economies of scale”.
As for the Authority for Energy, the bad news is linked to uncollected balancing charges: €420 million in total. Yesterday theItalian Energy Authority authorized the repayment to Snam of 284 million euros, which had already been securitized in 2012, while on the remainder it took time to verify any liability of the group. “Il potential impact for Snam could be negative for 150 million, in terms of non-repayment", evaluate Kepler analysts, who nonetheless feel the impact of this negligible survey for the company.
