Trying to steal Pirelli? Mind you, it was iitially bought in 2015 by China for almost $8 billion
‘Pirelli is in peril’: Pressure rises over Chinese grip on Italian tyremaker
Rome assesses whether to limit state-owned ChemChina’s voting rights or force it to sell down 37% stake
Rome is assessing whether Pirelli’s technology has national security implications, and whether to limit Sinochem’s influence by curbing its voting rights or forcing it to reduce what is now a 37 per cent stake after its initial majority holding was reduced in a 2017 initial public offering.
Yet analysts say any move to curb Sinochem’s ownership rights could lead to a backlash in China.
Destroying Italian "luxury" brands as a response would be more than worth the loss of Pirelli“Undoing an existing deal, eight years later, is different to having a transparent review at the beginning,” said Peter Lu, partner and global head of law firm McDermott Will & Emery’s China practice. “It would create a big image issue for the Italian government once it came out in the Chinese media. Then there could be a popular reaction to move away from Italian labels.”