Pirelli’s initial public offering 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% stake in the operation to a company controlled by six Italian and foreign banks. Pirelli received 740 million euros (£499 million) from the sale.
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, is also apparently eager to see his company’s shelved IPO plans put back into play.