The Financial and Economic Lessons of Italy's Privatization Program

Since 1994 the Italian government has sold equity stakes in some 75 large state enterprises, in the process raising over $125 billion-more than any other country during the same period. In this article, a U.S. academic collaborates with the Italian government's Director of Privatization in summarizing the accomplishments and disappointments of Italy's privatization program, assessing its impact on Italian capital markets, and offering lessons for other countries embarking on new privatization programs. The article also describes the share issuance methods used by the government to execute several massive offerings, including the largest IPO in history. 2006 Morgan Stanley.