Privatisation of Poste, up to 29% on the market. Here is the share reserved for savers and employees

The process of transferring a second tranche of Poste Italiane to the market takes a new step. The decree of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers announced on 25 January finally sees the light and arrives at the competent commissions in Parliament for their opinion. The procedures for the sale and the share that can end up on the market had been anticipated in recent days by Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti. The decree therefore reiterates that the share 'of the State in the capital of Poste Italiane, also through companies directly or indirectly controlled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance' must not be 'less than 35 per cent'.

The document states that it has been deemed 'appropriate to proceed with the disposal of a further stake in the share capital of Poste Italiane by means of a wide-market offer addressed to the public of savers in Italy, including employees of the Poste Italiane group, and/or to Italian and international institutional investors'. It is therefore a public offering open to both institutional and retail investors. The sale may be done 'also in several stages, through single and/or joint recourse to a public offer of sale addressed to the public of savers in Italy, including employees of the Poste Italiane group, and/or to Italian and international institutional investors, or through placement on the market, also through accelerated sale modalities or through block sale'. The government is therefore keeping its hands free, reserving the possibility of an accelerated placement reserved only for institutional investors. These are, in any case, standard indications present in all Dpcm for privatisations of companies of this type. Normally in IPOs, around 30% of the entire stake put on the market is allocated to savers and employees: in the case of the sale of 29% of Poste's capital, which at current prices is worth around EUR 5 billion, it would be a stake worth EUR 1.5 billion.

The presence of incentive initiatives for retail investors is also confirmed. "There may be forms of incentive in terms of reserved quotas of the offer and/or price (also differentiated for the general public and employees) and/or, as far as employees are concerned, financing arrangements," it is explained. The sale of securities of listed companies requires that in some way a discount be made to average market prices. Incentives for savers consist of a small percentage of free securities compared to those purchased (one for every hundred, for example) if held for at least 12 months. In the case of employees, lots may be reserved at a lower price than the placement price

Despite the decree being sent to Parliament, it now seems unlikely that there will be enough technical time to organise the IPO by spring. It is more likely that the sale of a further 29 per cent stake in Poste (Mef and Cdp control just under 65 per cent) will take place in the autumn