Italy’s Autostrade Makes Offer to Settle Government Dispute
Italy’s Autostrade Makes Offer to Settle Road Concession Dispute
(Bloomberg) --
Benetton-owned Italian toll-road manager Autostrade per l’Italia SpA offered a new proposal to resolve the highway-concession dispute that’s simmered since the deadly 2018 Genoa bridge disaster, people familiar with the matter said.
The proposal includes the Benetton family ceding control of Autostrade to infrastructure fund F2i and state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA, while retaining a minority stake, the people familiar said, declining to be identified because the talks are private. Thy would boost their stake via a reserved capital increase.
The highway company would also reduce tariffs, boost investments and pay compensation for the bridge collapse, the people said.
Autostrade, which is 88% owned by Atlantia SpA, sent the proposal to the government on Saturday, according to the people familiar. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government had given Autostrade until the weekend to come up with an offer and avoid having Autostrade’s road concessions revoked. The cabinet is set to meet Tuesday on the matter, according to newspapers including Corriere della Sera.
The government may have gained an edge in the negotiations after the country’s top court ruled against Autostrade in a case concerning its exclusion from works on a replacement bridge. But the governing coalition is still split on whether to settle the dispute with the Benettons, with the Five Star movement still pushing for a revocation of the licenses, which it has advocated since the Genoa bridge collapse.
Gianni Mion, chairman of the Benetton holding Edizione Srl, said the proposal is “serious” though he’s not optimistic about the outcome of the negotiations, according to a statement. Five Star considers the new offer insufficient, the Ansa news agency reported late Saturday, citing unidentified officials. Conte might only accept a full exit of the Benettons from Autostrade to avoid a government crisis, la Repubblica reported, without saying where it got the information.
Autostrade also included a proposal to amend a recent law that made revocation easier and cheaper for the state, Corriere della Sera reported. That is considered vital for the company to regain investment-grade status.
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