Mubadala Emerges as Frontrunner in Talks Over Italy's Ansaldo Energia

Summary

• Corriere says Mubadala leads talks to buy into Italian turbine maker Ansaldo Energia.
• State-backed CDP Equity owns 99.6% of Ansaldo and would keep majority control.
• AI-driven power demand has lifted orders for Ansaldo's gas-turbine business.

The latest

Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund is the leading candidate to take a stake in Ansaldo Energia, the Italian turbine manufacturer controlled by the state lender's investment arm, Corriere della Sera reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Mubadala is one of several Gulf funds and investors that have shown interest, according to the newspaper. No deal structure has been settled.

Details

• The counterparty: CDP Equity, the investment arm of Italy's state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, owns 99.6% of Ansaldo Energia and is the party in talks, Corriere reported. The newspaper said CDP Equity would retain majority control of the company under any transaction, leaving a Gulf investor in a minority position.
• The open question: The structure of a possible deal has yet to be determined, according to Corriere. That leaves unresolved whether an investment would come through newly issued shares, a purchase from CDP Equity, or another mechanism, and no valuation or timetable has been reported.
• The field: Mubadala is described by Corriere as the frontrunner, but not the only interested party. The newspaper said several Gulf-based funds and investors are looking at the Italian engineering group, without naming the others or specifying how far their discussions have advanced.
• The responses: A spokesperson for Ansaldo Energia declined to comment. Cassa Depositi e Prestiti also declined to comment to the newspaper, and Mubadala did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Bloomberg.
• The company: Founded in 1853 and based in Genoa, Ansaldo Energia builds turbines used in gas-fired power plants. It is one of a small group of Western manufacturers in a market where capacity has become a bottleneck for new generation projects.
• The numbers: Ansaldo's order intake reached 2.3 billion euros, about 2.6 billion dollars, last year and is expected to rise sharply in the coming years, Corriere reported. The newspaper attributed the demand to surging power needs from the artificial intelligence industry.
• The Gulf link: Ansaldo has run a facility in Abu Dhabi for roughly 30 years, employing 250 people who repair turbine blades for customers across the region, according to Corriere. That existing footprint sits in the same emirate as the fund now reported to be negotiating for a stake.
• The nuclear track: The company recently set up a nuclear research venture with other Italian partners, Corriere said. The newspaper did not identify the partners or the scale of the investment behind the new entity.

Background

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti is Italy's state lender and a central vehicle for Rome's holdings in strategic industrial assets. Its investment arm took control of Ansaldo Energia after the manufacturer's earlier ownership changes, placing the turbine maker inside the state's protected industrial perimeter.

Between the lines

Two facts frame the talks. CDP Equity's insistence on keeping majority control signals Rome treats turbine manufacturing as strategic, which caps what any Gulf investor can obtain. And Ansaldo's 30-year Abu Dhabi repair operation means Mubadala would be investing in a supplier already embedded in its own market, at the moment AI-driven electricity demand is lifting the order book.

What's next

Watch for confirmation or denial from CDP Equity and Mubadala, and for any disclosed deal structure or valuation. Ansaldo's next order-intake figures will show whether the sharp rise Corriere described is materializing.

Source: Bloomberg, Corriere della Sera