Terna boss admits IPTO sale prospects now considerably diminished

The head official of Italy’s Terna has expressed dissatisfaction over the newly-elected leftist Syriza party’s intention to cancel the ongoing privatization tender for IPTO, the Independent Power Transmission Operator.

Matteo Del Fante, the Terna head, expressed concern over last weekend’s election victory in Greece by the leftist Syriza party, in comments made to  Italian business media.

The rise to power of Greece’s new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who, in pre-election campaigning had condemned the previous government’s plans to privatize IPTO and part of its parent company PPC, the Public Power Corporation, now “makes the acquisition of a 66 percent stake in IPTO difficult,” Del Fante remarked.

Tsipras had personally pledged that such developments, if actualized, would not be recognized by him. But he beat the previous government to the plan’s completion and now holds control.

Despite the unfavorable turn of events for IPTO’s privatization, the Italian company is believed to be still interested, even though “the probability of this sale taking place is considerably smaller than what it would have been had [ousted PM Antonis] Samaras won the election,” the Terna chief admitted.

According to the Italian newspaper report, Terna had set aside 350 million euros for the acquisition and was “searching for a financial partner.”

Terna is one of four candidates who have expressed an interest in the IPTO privatization tender, the other three being Belgian company Elia, China’s SGCC, and Canadian fund PSP.