The €4 billion privatisation of Poste Italiane will take place in mid-October and should be completed by the end of that month, the Italian government announced yesterday.
Rome aims to sell off up to 40% stake in the state-owned postal group, which is valued at about €10 billion, to raise up to €4 billion to help reduce the country’s heavy public debts. Shares will be mostly targeted at institutional investors, with incentives for retail customers and company employees.
The postal operator itself said that it has formally asked the Italian Stock Exchange for permission to list shares and is seeking legal approval from the country’s financial regulator for its IPO prospectus.
The IPO will be coordinated by a number of Italian and international banks (BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup), with various bookrunners including Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS. The company is being advised by Rothschilds while Lazard is advising the government.
The announcements follow the company’s half-year results which saw rising operating profits and revenues, driven mostly by growth in financial and insurance services. Operating profits rose by 26% to €638 million while net income nearly doubled to €435 million from €222 million. Group revenues rose by 7% to €16 billion as growth in high-margin financial and insurance services continued to outweigh the decline in traditional postal services.
