Италия перенимает Армянсий опыт?

[crimson]

Italy sells Enel stake to reduce public debt

By Tony Barber in Rome

Published: October 31 2003 4:00 | Last Updated: October 31 2003 4:00

The Italian government yesterday took a step towards cutting its vast public debt by selling a €2.2bn ($2.57bn) stake in electricity company Enel, Europe's biggest privatised utility.

In the biggest European placement of the year, Morgan Stanley, the investment bank, bought the entire offering of 400m shares, 6.6 per cent of Enel's total, from the Italian treasury. Using an accelerated book-building operation to minimise market impact, it placed them with institutions in Italy, the US and elsewhere.

Government officials said the sale was intended to reduce Italy's debt, increase Enel's market liquidity and remove the uncertainty hanging over the stock in anticipation of the sale.

"The stock price was being affected by the expectations surrounding this operation," Antonio Marzano, Italy's industry minister, told reporters.

Enel's shares were €5.41 at Wednesday's close, giving it a market capitalisation of about €33bn. Traders said the treasury, advised by Lazard, the investment bank, had sold the government stake to Morgan Stanley without a discount. Six other banks competed with Morgan Stanley for the mandate.

Morgan Stanley placed the shares with investors at €5.42. By close of European trade yesterday, it still had an undisclosed amount to place.

Domenico Siniscalco, the treasury's director-general, estimated that the sale would reduce Italy's public debt by 0.18 per cent of gross domestic product. At the end of 2002 the debt totalled 106.7 per cent of GDP, the largest of any European Union member. The government aims to reduce it to 106 per cent by the end of this year and 105 per cent by the end of next year.

For Paolo Scaroni, Enel's chief executive, the sale furthers his ambition to broaden the shareholder base and increase Enel's international appeal, especially in the US. Fund managers outside Italy owned about 6 per cent of Enel at the end of 2002.

When the government sold a 32 per cent stake in Enel in 1999 it was Europe's largest ever utility privatisation, raising €18bn. The latest sale cuts the government's stake to just below 61 per cent. "One of the aims of this operation was to reduce our stake in Enel because the treasury doesn't want to own 68 per cent of this type of company," Mr Siniscalco said. The sale, he added, meant Italy had raised $5.7bn from selling off state holdings in 2003.

The sale just tops the Dutch government's €2bn placing of KPN shares last month. Under the agreement with Morgan Stanley, the treasury will not sell any more shares in Enel for the next 180 days.

As part of its preparations for the full liberalisation of Europe's utility sector, Enel is also planning to float 50 per cent of Terna, its electricity distribution network, in an initial public offering in the first half of next year.

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