The German government has blocked the acquisition of Open Grid Europe (OGE), German gas transport infrastructure, by the Italian Snam (ENI Group), because of the presence of China’s State Grid Corporation as a minority shareholder in the Italian Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), which controls Snam. Snam is the leading european company for gas transport, with over 40,000 km of pipelines.
There is no official statement, but German media report that the indirect Chinese presence is the reason why Berlin made it known that it would not authorize the deal, which had already been signed by Snam and the Abu Dhabi company Infinity Investments (II), for the purchase of the 24.99% shares of OGE owned by II. After talks with German authorities, Snam announced that the deal had been scuttled.
The German government decision has produced some bad blood in Rome, where the argument with the Chinese is seen as a pretext. The Chinese participation in GDP is a minority stake and the Italian government, if needed, can use the so-called “golden share” rule. Therefore, it is seen as a “nationalist” action.
