[Intl-tobacco] italy to sell tobacco monopoly

[Robert Weissman]

Italy to go ahead with tobacco sale

by Paul Betts / in Rome
Source: Financial Times (uk), 2002-07-31, via tobacco.org Region:ITALY
Category: Business URL:
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c
=StoryFT&cid28039808857&p12571727166

The Italian Treasury yesterday launched a new round of
privatisations with the publication of the tender documents for the
sale of Eti, the state-owned tobacco company.

The government hopes to raise about €1.5bn (£947m) from the direct
sale of its old tobacco monopoly which is expected to see big
multinationals such as British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco
bid against Italian investors. These include a group led by Luca di
Montezemolo, the Ferrari chairman, with business allies such as
Diego della Valle, chairman of the Tod´s shoe and luxury goods
group, and the Benetton clothing family.

The Treasury´s announcement highlights government efforts to
maintain

the momentum of its privatisation programme at a time when
stock market conditions are making the sale of larger assets difficult.

The government hopes to raise as much as €20bn from the sale of
stakes in the Enel electricity utility, Alitalia, its remaining
holding in Telecom Italia, the Fincantieri shipbuilding group and
the Tirenia shipping business. But it has been forced to put these
sales on hold because of the world stock market collapse.

The sale of Eti is unlikely to be affected by current volatile
market conditions because the state company offers a a foothold in
Europe´s second largest cigarette market, after Germany.

For multinationals such as BAT or Japan Tobacco, each with just 5
per cent shares of the Italian market, the private placement also
offers an opportunity to challenge Philip Morris´ dominant 62 per
cent market share in Italy. The world´s leading tobacco maker is
excluded on antitrust grounds.

The Treasury said bidders would have to file expressions of
interest by September 16. It maintained the option to interrupt the
direct sale at any time and dispose of Eti through a public
offering. Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank, is advising the
Treasury.
Italy to Sell 100% of State Tobacco Company Eti, Ministry Says by Iain
Rogers
Source: Bloomberg News, 2002-07-30, via tobacco.org Region:ITALY
Category: Business URL:
http://www.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?T=marketsquote99_news.ht&s=APUZUqhUhSXRhb
Hkg


Rome, July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Italy plans to sell all of state-
owned Ente Tabacchi Italiani SpA, the nation´s biggest cigarette
maker, as it looks to raise funds to cut government debt, the
Finance Ministry said.

The deadline for companies to file an ``expression of interest´´ in
Eti is Sept. 16, the ministry said in a statement published on its
Web site. The government is also retaining an option to sell Eti
shares to the public, the statement said.

Italy may raise as much as 1.4 billion euros ($1.37 billion) from
the sale of Eti, Italian newspaper la Repubblica reported today.
The buyer would gain a dominant position in Italy´s 13 billion-euro
tobacco market, second in Europe only to Germany.

A group of Italian investors including the Benetton family, Emilio
Gnutti´s Hopa SpA and Ferrari SpA Chairman Luca Cordero di
Montezemolo, wants to buy Eti, Italian newspapers have reported.

British American Tobacco Plc, the No. 2 tobacco maker, Japan
Tobacco Inc., the third-biggest tobacco company, U.K.´s Gallaher
Group Plc and Spain´s Altadis SA may also consider bids, Italian
papers have reported.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is advising the government on the sale,
the ministry said today.