Pirelli Hoping to List Tyre Division

Italian corporate giant Pirelli & Co SpA is reportedly in favour of seeing its tyre division listed on the stock exchange in March or April as trading conditions improve.

Pirelli’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) plans for the tyre division were dropped last year because market conditions were deemed unfavourable at the time, and instead the company agreed to sell a 38.9 per cent stake in the operation to a company controlled by six Italian and foreign banks. Pirelli & C SpA received 740 million euros (£499 million) from the sale of the 38.9 per cent share.
Under the terms of this agreement, Pirelli has an option to buy back the shares if the banks do not conduct an IPO within four and a half years.

According to the Italian publication Il Mondo, the new company created by the six banks, known as Speed, is keen to press ahead with the listing. If the operation is not ready by spring, it will go ahead after summer. Marco Tronchetti Provera, chairman of Pirelli Tyre, is also apparently eager to see his company’s shelved IPO plans put back into play.