Sinochem completes €1bn sale of Pirelli stake to Czech investor

Milan, Italy – China National Chemical Corp. (Sinochem) has completed the sale of a 14% stake in Pirelli & C. SpA to Czech investment firm Lumina Crown, according to a regulatory filing published 31 July.

The filing recorded the disposal of 151,883,471 ordinary shares by Marco Polo International Italy Srl, the investment vehicle of Sinochem, at €6.50 per share.

Completed through Euronext Milan’s trade confirmation system, the deal was valued at €987 million.

Lumina Crown is an independent Czech investment company founded by the entrepreneur and investor Michal Strnad. Following the deal, the investment firm has become Pirelli's third-largest shareholder after MTP/Camfin (26.5%) and Sinochem (20%).

The shares, a Bursa Italian reporting said, were transferred through “an off-book on-exchange transaction.”

This means the deal was privately negotiated before being reported through Euronext's systems for clearing, settlement and regulatory purposes.

The transaction follows a prolonged dispute among Pirelli's main shareholders after the Italian government moved to curb the influence of Chinese state-owned investor Sinochem.

In April, Rome imposed a series of restrictions on Sinochem and its subsidiary China National Tire & Rubber Co. (CNRC) under Italy's "golden power" legislation. (ERJ report)

The government action followed the breakdown of a shareholder agreement between CNRC and other major Pirelli investors.

At the time, Pirelli said the decree reaffirmed the company's status as a business of "strategic importance", citing in particular its 'Cyber Tyre' technology, which "transforms the tire into a sensor capable of collecting sensitive information."