On May 5, the holding company Atlantia, whose main shareholder is the Benetton family, concluded the sale of Autostrade per l’Italia to Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the financial company 83% controlled by the Ministry of Economy. Cassa Depositi e Prestiti acquired 88.06% of the capital of Autostrade per l’Italia, in consortium with the Blackstone and Macquarie Asset Management funds. The cost of the operation was around 8.2 billion euros in all.
The sale had already been approved last June, but the formal conclusion of the transaction was missing. The negotiation for the sale of the shares of Autostrade per l’Italia held by Atlantia to Cassa Depositi e Prestiti began in July 2020 following a a deal reached by the then government led by Giuseppe Conte.
The agreement was strongly supported by the 5 Star Movement, which after the collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genoa in 2018 had undertaken to revoke the motorway concessions to Autostrade per l’Italia, ousting the Benetton family, accused of negligence and lack of controls. Despite the agreement reached in July, the negotiations between Atlantia and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti had proceeded slowly, mainly due to the discussions on the total amount that the latter would have to pay.
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