Italy said to mull sale of Eni stake to state-owned CDP

Tommaso Ebhardt, Lorenzo Totaro and Daniele Lepido November 07, 2017

ROME and MILAN (Bloomberg) -- Italy is considering the sale of part of its stake in energy giant Eni SpA and its holding in air-traffic controller Enav SpA in a bid to raise about 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) by the end of this year to reduce debt, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Italian Treasury may sell to state-owned lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA (CDP) about half of its 4.3% holding in the oil company -- a stake now valued at about 1 billion euros -- and its 53% stake in Enav, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.

A decision on the disposals hasn’t been finalized, the people said. A spokesman for Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan declined to comment on the plan. A representative for CDP declined to comment. CDP, about 83% owned by the Italian Treasury, is a joint stock company that operates outside the perimeter of the country’s public administration. An Eni spokesman declined to comment.

Italy is targeting revenue from state asset sales at about 0.2% of gross domestic product, or 3.4 billion euros, Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan told parliament’s joint budget committees in Rome last month. Padoan declined to identify the assets.

This year the government led by Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has twice revised downward its target for revenue from privatizations. The goal, originally 0.4% of GDP, was first cut to 0.3% in April’s budget-planning document and then to 0.2% in September.

CDP’s investments in state-owned companies include 25.8% of Eni and 35% of postal and financial services firm Poste Italiane SpA. The CDP group owns a total 410 billion euros in assets. About two years ago Eni agreed to sell a stake in oil-services company Saipem SpA to a fund controlled by CDP.

Italy last year failed to meet privatization targets that it said were key to reducing public debt that stands at 2.28 trillion euros, or more than 130% of the country’s GDP. It postponed a plan to sell a stake in the national railways company Ferrovie dello Stato as well as additional shares of Poste Italiane.

Italian news agency Ansa reported Oct. 17 that the Treasury may cede its stake in Enav to CDP.