Pirelli shares rose on Friday following a report that two Czech billionaires have opened talks with Sinochem over acquiring part of the Chinese group’s controlling interest in the Italian tyre manufacturer.
According to the report, Michal Strnad - head of the arms maker Czechoslovak Group - and Pavel Tykac, the sole owner of energy group Se.ven Global Investment, have approached Sinochem, which currently holds 34.1% of Pirelli’s capital. The two investors are understood to be aiming for a stake in the range of 10% to 20% of Pirelli.
Pirelli’s market capitalisation stands at c7.5 billion. The report noted that Strnad controls roughly 85% of CSG, which is listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange and has a market capitalisation of about c14 billion. Tykac is attributed with a personal fortune of c8 billion.
The sources cautioned that any deal is not guaranteed. Those same sources said that prior approaches to Sinochem have faltered because of the Chinese group’s price expectations, a dynamic that has reportedly complicated negotiations in the past.
Some market participants interpret Sinochem’s stance as political rather than purely commercial, suggesting that Beijing is signalling reluctance to be compelled into relinquishing holdings in Western companies. That interpretation follows moves by the Italian government last April to limit Sinochem’s influence at Pirelli.
Under Italy’s golden power provisions, Rome ordered restrictions on Sinochem’s candidate list during Pirelli’s board renewal process, permitting only three names from a slate of 15 and barring any candidate from serving as chief executive or chairman. Sinochem has challenged that measure in court. At last week’s shareholder meeting, the majority list submitted by Camfin prevailed and the board subsequently appointed Marco Tronchetti Provera as executive chairman.
In a separate development, Pirelli announced an agreement to acquire a 24.99% equity stake in RIDEsense, a start-up spawned from the University of Naples Federico II and the MegaRide Group, with an option to raise its holding to 100%.
The minority investment gives Pirelli a licence to integrate RIDEsense’s virtual sensor technology into its Cyber Tyre ecosystem to enhance features such as aquaplaning detection. Piero Misani, Pirelli’s chief technical officer, said: "Our agreement with RIDEsense will further expand the potential of this ecosystem by strengthening its software component, which lies at the very heart of Cyber Tyre."
RIDEsense co-chief executives Flavio Farroni and Aleksandr Sakhnevych described the pact as "a significant agreement for Italy," saying it unites "Italian research and industry" around a technology that originated at the University of Naples Federico II.