Italy to retain majority holding in any railway stake sale, company CEO says
24/09/2024 18:06
MILAN, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Italy will keep a majority
stake in national railways operator Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) in
any potential plan to open up the company's capital to outside
investors, Chief Executive Officer Stefano Donnarumma said on
Tuesday.
"We are studying how to open up the company's capital and
the perimeter of the business which could be involved", he told
reporters during an event in Berlin.
Any potential stake sale would result in selling "for sure a
minority stake."
Donnarumma, the former CEO of Italy's power grid Terna
TRN.MI , said earlier this month the company was studying
whether to seek outside investors, including through a potential
bourse listing.
Any project to bring private investors onboard needs to
include a regulatory framework to attract "patient investors,
which do not have a short-term view", he said at Tuesday's
event.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government has
decided to sell stakes in several state-controlled companies
since it took office in 2022.
Last week the government adopted a decree allowing the
Treasury to sell a stake of up to 14% in postal service operator
Poste Italiane PST.MI .
(Reporting by Elvira Pollina, editing by Gavin Jones)
((elvira.pollina@thomsonreuters.com;))