Home » The activist fund Tci writes to Mario Draghi: “Do not make political interference on the sale of Aspi”

The activist fund Tci writes to Mario Draghi: “Do not make political interference on the sale of Aspi”

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MILANO – The ICT activist fund, a shareholder of Atlantia with a stake close to 10%, returns to the position on the sale file of Aspi, the subsidiary that manages Autostrade per l’Italia and on which the government seeks a tiring negotiation after the tragedy of the collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genoa, on August 14, 2018. The British investor wrote to the government asking that it not put “any pressure on Atlantia to close a deal”, and giving it “the necessary time” to consider the recent offer from Spanish group ACS, which, in should it materialize, rumors show up to 10 billion for the business on the plate. The letter, viewed by some press agencies, is addressed to Prime Minister Mario Draghi and to the Ministers of Economy and Infrastructure, and for information to the EU Commission, and refers to a previous letter sent by the Ministry of Infrastructure to Atlantia, with which according to ICI “the Italian government is exercising political interference”.

The accusations are centered on the Pef, the new investment plan

The letter, signed by the fund’s founder and CEO, Christopher Hohn, notes that Acs’s offer to purchase a significant stake in Aspi is “significantly larger than that made by the consortium led by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti”. And he adds: “The evaluation of the Acs offer should be made by the board of Atlantia, independently and freely from any political interference. According to the aggressive London manager,” the Italian government should not put any pressure on Atlantia to close a transaction. “The (previous) Italian government, as the founder of Tci recalls, asked in July 2020 that the transaction” be conducted within the framework of fair market conditions “.

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On April 5, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport wrote to company controlled by the Benetton family asking it “to readily accept to sell 88% of Aspi to the consortium formed by CDP” together with the two funds Blackstone and Maquarie, which completed an offer of 9.1 billion. According to Tci in that letter, the ministry highlights that the “Pef”, the economic-financial plan that regulates investments on the toll network under concession, cannot be approved without the consent of the State Attorney, which for the ministry largely depends on the conclusion of the transaction in progress for a few months with the Cdp consortium. “The sale of Aspi cannot be subject to the approval of this regulatory framework”, now accuses Tci, which sees interference in this letter. “It is a blatant violation of the principle of free movement of capital – adds Hohn -. We think that a higher evaluation of Aspi, together with the possibility for CDP to join forces with ACS, will be considered positively by the government, Atlantia and its shareholders, including minority shareholders “.

This week the board of Atlantia to prepare the decisive assembly

A few days ago the board of Atlantia submitted to the consortium led by the national promotion institute (the CDP) “requests for improvement”: but to date there is no evidence that the offer can change. Atlantia on Friday however postponed the dossier to a forthcoming board of directors, to be held by Friday 23 April, in order to be able to finalize the explanatory report for the shareholders’ meeting, called to evaluate the offer of Cdp in the ordinary call expected towards the end. of May, to give the decisive indication to the board of directors and close the dispute.

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