China's Sinochem says it has proposed solution to end governance spat in Pirelli

Pirelli & C.

26/01/2026 17:58

ROME, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Pirelli's Chinese shareholder Sinochem said on Monday it had put forward a "structured solution" to end a governance spat with the tyremaker's Italian investor Camfin.

The announcement comes as the government assesses options to limit Sinochem's 600500.SS influence over Pirelli PIRC.MI, or even turn it into a passive shareholder, in a bid to facilitate the tyremaker's U.S. expansion.

Beijing-controlled Sinochem is Pirelli's largest shareholder with a 34.1% stake while Camfin, the vehicle of Italian businessman Marco Tronchetti Provera, holds a 25.3% stake, with plans to increase it to up to 29.9%.

Camfin said last week it would not renew its shareholder pact with Sinochem, paving the way for a new intervention by the Italian government on the tyremaker's governance through so-called golden power legislation aimed at preserving the national interest on business matters.

Sinochem said in a statement on Monday it had submitted a "structured, well-founded proposal based on standard and widely used corporate tools in line with best international practice, with the objective of addressing both Pirelli's governance framework and the concerns relating to U.S. regulatory requirements if any."

Camfin and Pirelli itself complain that having a Chinese company as its main shareholder poses a hurdle to the group's U.S. expansion, as Washington tightens restrictions on Chinese technology in the automotive sector.

The Chinese investor said it hoped its proposal would be "neutrally assessed with genuine cooperative spirit by other involved parties," without providing details of its solution.

 (Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, editing by Gavin Jones)

 ((giuseppe.fonte@thomsonreuters.com; +390680307711;))