“No risk of foreign takeover. With Saudi Arabia in the ENI share capital, we won a lottery. A gift from Prince Mohammad bin Salman ”the statement by the President of FederPetroli Italia - Michele Marseille following the indiscretions of Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal for an equity investment in the Covid19 period by the Saudi Sovereign Fund PIF (Public Investment Fund).
The president FederPetroli Italia continues "Given the times and excessive stock market falls of most companies, it is right that market authorities, such as Consob, are vigilant players to avoid any takeovers by third countries, but it is also fair to say that if a investor, whether public or private, takes advantage of some favorable market situations, there is nothing anomalous or illegal. In this last period, ENI has increasingly consolidated the Middle East with strategic agreements, especially touching the Arabian Peninsula and the Emirates, a possible entry of Saudi funds into the capital of the Italian energy company is only to be considered a lottery. In this way we could have an advantage over the medium and long term in foreign energy operations, not only, thanks to partnerships, investments in new fields and other energy yards would be more advantageous, working on parallel tracks with other investors, with a common profit objective. ".
"If we consider the high value of the listing on the stock exchange of the Saudi energy company Saudi Aramco, the price of crude oil today, the market situations and the massive oil presence in the Middle East, for Italy this maneuver does not become a climb, but rather a strong note of merit. Unfortunately, our country, weak and frightened by external markets, is evaluating most forms of investment, hostile takeovers. The important thing is that Governance remains Italian and this seems more than evident to ENI ”.