The Italian government does not have any plans to oppose foreign takeovers of its domestic enterprises. According to its economy minister, there are no plans for any opposition, in light of the possible sales of Telecom Italia and Finmeccanica's power engineering subsidiary.
Other firms in the takeover pipeline include Ansaldo Energia, whose main buyer is Doosan Heavy Industries of South Korea. Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris on the other hand had expressed interest in purchasing Telecom Italia.
According to Fabrizio Saccomanni, in a television interview with Reuters, "We don't have any strategy to prevent such investments. We don't necessarily have a role to play in single negotiations and I think it should be up to the companies involved to decide on the terms and conditions for foreign takeovers, or something like that." He added that the Italian government welcomes foreign investors.
He also confirmed an earlier schedule, where the government would be presenting a broad privatization plan this coming October. He said, "Our intention is to look at a comprehensive program that includes... (sale) of real estate assets but also of financial assets in state controlled companies. We should be able to explain the details of this program in September or October in major financial centers in Europe, the US and the Far East."
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