Italy said to confirm CEOs of state-owned Eni, Enel for another term

ROME (Bloomberg) -- Italy is planning to confirm the holders of the top jobs at energy firms Eni SpA and Enel SpA for another term, according to people familiar with the matter, including a government official.

While Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi and Enel’s Francesco Starace will likely be confirmed, the people said, those decisions haven’t been finalized as the Italian government is required by law to submit its list for the boards of companies it controls by March 20. Representatives of the government, Eni and Enel, declined to comment.

Eni’s “turnaround story and the potential reappointment of the board, which we expect on March 20, continue to underpin our investment case,” Mediobanca analyst Alessandro Pozzi wrote in note to clients.

A soft-spoken former diplomat who succeeded Matteo Renzi as premier in December following the latter’s referendum defeat, the 62-year-old Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni gets to pick the heads of state-controlled companies like Eni, Enel, Poste and Leonardo, firms which together have a market value of 113 billion euros ($121 billion), accounting for a quarter of Italy’s FTSE MIB benchmark stock index.

Gentiloni still could make some changes in the plan, one of the people said. Shareholders at the companies must confirm the nominees for three-year terms. The finance ministry is the biggest shareholder in all four, with direct and indirect stakes of 30% in Eni and 24% in Enel, according to market regulator Consob.