Government goes ahead with the sale of shares in large publicly controlled companies. In other words he also called privatizations. An operation well explained yesterday in a hearing in the Senate by the controlling “shareholder” of the companies: the Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti. Who expressed his thoughts by asking a rhetorical question: «Do you believe that the experience of a society in which the State, not being 50%, but still continuously in control – I am referring to Eni, Enel – has produced a performance improvement, or worsening? I believe there is an improvement in performance and also in dividends.” As if to say that the big industrialists and their many small shareholders certainly have nothing to complain about the presence of the State. After that – Giorgetti thought – it is useless to hold too many shares in a free-floating company when, to control it, a share of around 35% is sufficient (with which the meetings are controlled and the top management is appointed) if the operation generates a profit for the state.
It is no coincidence that the hearing concerned the effects of a further sale of Poste Italiane shares on the market, as envisaged by the Prime Ministerial Decree. Today the MEF controls 35% through the CDP and 29.26% directly. And this is the share destined for the market: «If we proceeded with the sale of the entire participation of the Mef – said the minister – the equivalent value would be 4.4 billion, a value which however cannot ignore the timing of the operation framed in the horizon 2024-26″. We will carry out “the operation at the most appropriate time to maximize the income”. The sale of the share, as mentioned, “will not lead to a loss of control and no entity other than the MEF will be able to hold a share greater than 5%”. The sale can also take place “in several phases” (as is happening for example with MPS, ed.) and in principle “the government could stop at 51%, a bar which is currently satisfactory compared to the path”.
Giorgetti was then very clear on the financial rationality of the operation, explaining that for the state coffers, using the proceeds deriving from the sale of Poste shares to lower the public debt, the lower dividends collected are lower than the savings obtained from the lower interest expenses, generating “a saving in terms of interest expense of approximately 200 million per year”. Added to these are the “positive effects on company performance associated with these operations”. Unfortunately the space for other placements of this type is limited only to the Post Office, since the MEF’s share in the other big listed companies such as Eni (32.4%), Terna (29.8%), Enel (23.6%) and Leonardo (30.2%), does not allow much room for maneuver if you want to maintain control.
For the Post Office, the CEO Matteo Del Fante (also at the hearing) in turn reassured the senators: «When asked whether something changes with the sale of other shares on the market or not – he said – I would answer like this: absolutely no, it depends solely and exclusively on the management and the indications given by the shareholder”.
