Benettons Set to Discuss Autostrade Spinoff This Week

(Bloomberg) --

Italy's Benetton family is set to discuss this week the spinoff of its toll-road operator unit Autostrade per l'Italia SpA in a move aimed to end a dispute with the government that's festered since the deadly 2018 Genoa bridge collapse, la Repubblica reported.

The board of directors at the billionaire family's Edizione Srl holding company will meet Aug. 6 to discuss the project, though the Benettons and the government still disagree over the main points, la Repubblica added, without saying where it got its information.

The inauguration of the new Genoa bridge is scheduled for Aug. 3.

The proposal to separate Autostrade from parent company Atlantia SpA would ensure that state-backed lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and other new buyers acquire their stakes at market value, responding to investors' concern over the pricing of the assets.

Under the deal, CDP would directly acquire a 33% share of Autostrade in a capital increase. Partners identified by CDP would buy an additional 22% at the same time as an initial offering of 39% of the company, people familiar with the proposal said last month.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's government and the Benetton family last month agreed to settle a dispute on Autostrade's highway licenses stemming from the bridge disaster. Benetton-controlled Atlantia was forced by the Italian government to choose between a revocation of the toll-road concession and a sale of its stake in Autostrade.

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