The F2i fund launches the plan for the creation of the Sardinian airport network in Italy. The input began in the last few hours, after the Italian Competition and Market Authority (Agcm) established that there is no "obstacle to competition" nor creation of "a dominant position" in the sale of the management company of Cagliari airport (Sogaer) to F2i Ligantia by the Cagliari Chamber of Commerce, which holds 94.3% of the Sardinian airport.

F2i's plan envisages that the Cagliari Chamber of Commerce, through a capital increase, will enter Ligantia with a 40.5% stake. At the end of the operation, F2i Ligantia will therefore control all three airport management companies on the island, becoming the owner of majority shareholdings in Geasar (Olbia-Costa Smeralda stopover) for 79.79%, in Sogeaal ("Riviera del Corallo" of Alghero-Fertilia) for 71.25%, in Sogaer ("Mario Mameli" of Cagliari-Elmas) for 95.7%.

These are the details of the project. To integrate the Cagliari airport into F2i, the fund led by Renato Ravanelli has prepared the merger by incorporation of F2i Smeralda (which controls 79.79% of Geasar) into F2i Ligantia (controls 71.25% of Sogeaal, 0, 21% of Sogaer, 100% of F2i Smeralda). F2i Ligantia is a vehicle that also sees the US investment company BlackRock and Fondazione Sardegna in the minority.

The Italian economic newspaper "Milano Finanza" notes that this "move has a deeper meaning than the simple desire to achieve operational efficiency", since "the control of Ligantia would pass from the exclusive one of F2i to the joint one with the Chamber of Commerce" of Cagliari and Oristano, which in turn would find themselves "also having an impact in the ports of Alghero and Olbia". In short, F2i Ligantia was artfully built to welcome public shareholders, avoiding creating an "obstacle to competition" and "a dominant position", as noted by Agcm. 

On the same topic, see also the article published by AVIONEWS.