Italy's CDP pledges to submit bid for Atlantia's unit by end-Feb
- The binding offer was initially expected by the end of January, but a lengthy due diligence on Autostrade and Italy's ongoing political crisis have slowed down talks.
- The negotiations are part of renewed efforts to end a long-standing dispute between Atlantia and the Italian government triggered by the 2018 deadly collapse of a bridge run by Autostrade.
ROME: A consortium led by Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) has written to Atlantia committing to submit by the end of February a binding bid for a stake in the infrastructure group's motorway unit, two sources said.
In the letter sent to Atlantia the consortium did not mention the value it would attribute to the group's Autostrade per l'Italia unit, the sources added.
The binding offer was initially expected by the end of January, but a lengthy due diligence on Autostrade and Italy's ongoing political crisis have slowed down talks.
The negotiations are part of renewed efforts to end a long-standing dispute between Atlantia and the Italian government triggered by the 2018 deadly collapse of a bridge run by Autostrade.
Atlantia, which is controlled by the Benetton family, will hold a board meeting on Feb. 5 to discuss the consortium's letter, a source with knowledge of the matter said.
Shares in Atlantia were up nearly 9% at 1430 GMT reacting to a report by Bloomberg News saying that the CDP-led consortium would value the entire Autostrade business at between 8.5-9.5 billion euros, excluding debt.
Sources contacted by Reuters did not confirm that price range, with one source saying it was too early to discuss details of the offer the consortium plans to submit.
An equity value of 8.5-9.5 billion euros for Autostrade would be in line with the preliminary price range the consortium led by CDP had indicated in October last year.
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