Ntv, Pirelli and the Montezemolo and Tronchetti Provera fig leaves
What happens to Ntv? And what happened to Pirelli? The speech by Marco Mayer, professor at the Luiss Master in Cybersecurity
Bloomberg yesterday broke the news that the ownership of Italo (the GIP fund) would be interested in selling Trenitalia's rival railway company for $ 4 billion.
I do not know the economic trend of Italo, but as a commuter for years between Florence and Rome I have taken Italo hundreds of times. As a consumer, I must say that since 26 April 2018, when NTV sold to GIP foreigners (current owners) for about 1.9 billion, the Italo services that left something to be desired have at least partially improved.
In my case (but I was not the only one) due to inefficiencies in Italo's computer system (apparently irrecoverable) I was forced for months and months to show up at the station 10 minutes before departure because it was impossible to book online.
I don't know if – only 4 years after the purchase – GIP will be able to sell Italo for double the amount of when it bought. Of course, if Bloomberg 's sources on ongoing contacts are reliable, a decidedly substantial capital gain is looming for GIP sellers.
When GIP bought Italo from NTV the element of continuity with the past management was the presidency of Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, one of the founding partners in 2006.
The Italo story reminded me of another company story: that of Pirelli. In 2017, the Chinese giant Chinacom became the main shareholder of the Milanese company founded by the legendary Giovan Battista Pirelli in 1872.
In the recent history of Pirelli, the role of "ferryman" (not very different from that of Montezemolo for Italo) was played by Marco Tronchetti Provera, executive vice president of Pirelli and who, according to Startmag , should remain in office until 2026 .
In both cases we are faced with the sale to foreign groups of important companies in which Italian managers have played a leading role.
Beyond the personal destinies of Montezemolo and Tronchetti, it is necessary to reflect on the role of Italian managers who maintain their role after having favored the sale of important companies in our country to foreign groups.
Nothing illegitimate mind you, but it is natural to ask if it is a virtuous model? The issue that investigative journalism is called upon to investigate is what are the implications for the Italian economic system.
The fear is that the examples of Italo and Pirelli produce an impoverishment of the industrial heritage of the Italian system. It is not enough to keep some Italian managers in their positions for a few years to ensure that some important companies play a propulsive role for the future of the Italian economy.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/ntv-pirelli-e-le-foglie-di-fico-montezemolo-e-tronchetti-provera/ on Wed, 14 Sep 2022 06:46:29 +0000.