Court backs Salini actions

07 November 2012

An Italian court has rejected an attempt to suspend contractor Salini’s boardroom control of Impregilo, and has confirmed the legitimacy of the July shareholders’ meeting which saw Salini come out on top after a showdown with rival majority investor Gavio.

Both Salini and IGLI, a Gavio-owned holding company, had amassed stakes of just under 30% in Impregilo. In July, Impregilo shareholders backed Salini's proposal to oust the Impregilo board.

On Tuesday, November 6, the Civil Court of Milan rejected an emergency recourse which had been presented by the IGLI Group on August 13, in which IGLI requested the suspension of the “execution and effectiveness” of the motions approved by the Impregilo shareholders’ meeting on July 17, regarding the revocation of the board of directors in office at that time and the election of a new board.

The judge confirmed both the legitimacy of Salini’s proxy solicitation, and the correctness of the way the meeting’s majority adopted the decisions.

In September, Salini reached a collaboration agreement with Impregilo. Both companies will embark on joint commercial strategies in domestic markets and international markets, and will submit joint bids for larger and more complex projects. The companies said they expected to benefit from synergies in procurement, as well as optimising investments and pursuing greater efficiency in their commercial structures.

They estimated that, working together, both contractors could take in additional new project orders worth up to €6.4 billion between 2013 and 2017.

Last month, Italy’s competition authority, Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), launched an investigation into the strategic agreement between contractors Impregilo and Salini. AGCM said the agreement could prevent proper competition in future tenders.