Snam in its Acquisition of Austrian Pipeline TAG from CDP

Cleary Gottlieb is assisting Italian natural gas infrastructure company Snam in the €505 million acquisition of CDP GAS’s stake in Trans Austria Gasleitung GmbH (TAG), the company that owns the Austrian segment of the natural gas pipeline connecting Russia to Italy.

The transaction will allow Snam to consolidate its position among the leading energy infrastructure operators in Europe. It was approved by Snam’s board on September 12, 2014 and is expected to close by March 31, 2015.

At closing, Snam will acquire 84,47% of TAG share capital (corresponding to 89,22% of the company’s economic rights), while the remaining 15,53% (10,78% of the company’s economic rights) will be retained by Gas Connect Austria, currently TAG’s shareholder together with CDP GAS.

CDP GAS is a company controlled by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), the Italian state-controlled financial institution. In 2011, Cleary Gottlieb assisted Italian energy company Eni in the sale of its participation in TAG to CDP, pursuant to certain antitrust commitments Eni undertook towards the European Commission.