Libyan investments in Italy-FACTBOX

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Monday August 30, 2010 12:15:13 AM GMT

Aug 29 (Reuters) - Flush with petrodollars, Libya has been buying stakes in Italian companies and has disclosed other potential investments in energy and infrastructure companies.

The country led by Muammar Gaddafi since 1969 has about $150 billion in foreign reserves, or $24,000 for every citizen.

Gaddafi arrived in Rome on Sunday on a visit to mark the second anniversary of a friendship treaty with Italy.

Following is a list of Libya's main holdings and potential investments:

UNICREDIT

Libyan stake in banking group UniCredit has been raised to a total 6.7 percent with the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) acquiring a 2.075 percent stake in Italy's biggest lender.

Libya's central bank is a shareholder in the bank, with a 4.613 percent stake.

Politicians from the federalist Northern League party, which has often been suspicious of foreign immigrants, have expressed concern over the investment, saying it should be investigated by market regulator Consob.

MEDIOBANCA

Libya has agreed to set up a joint fund with as much as $500 million with Italian bank Mediobanca to invest in distressed Italian companies.

ENEL

Libya had expressed interest in a possible investment in power producer Enel, but last September Libyan central bank Governor Farhat Omar Bin Guidara said he was not aware of talks on possible investments in Europe's No.2 utility.

Another possible investment could be a stake in Enel's renewables unit, according to Italian newspaper MF. Enel is expected to sell 30 percent of its unit Enel Green Power.

TELECOM ITALIA

Libya held talks to buy a stake in Telecom Italia, the operator controlled by a group including Spain's Telefonica, but the deal broke down.

Libya already has a presence in Italian telecoms with a 14.8 percent stake in Retelit, held by the Libyan Post Telecommunications and Information Technology Company.

ENI

Libya has announced an interest in buying a stake in oil and gas company Eni, which has extensive operations in Libya, but has said it is not aiming for a specific stake level. It has not specified how much it holds at present, although the interest is still below 2 percent.

IMPREGILO

Italy's biggest builder Impregilo was in the list of possible Libyan investment targets but so far there is no evidence that Libya has made any share purchases in the construction firm.

FIAT

Libya came to the rescue of Fiat in 1977 at the invitation of the head of its founding family, Giovanni Agnelli, with the Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company (Lafico) buying a stake of about 15 percent in what was then a struggling carmaker.

The investment attracted criticism. Lafico sold its stake in 1986, but in 2002 it bought just over 2 percent. Currently its stake is less than 2 percent.

SOCCER

Lafico has 7.5 percent of the soccer club Juventus, which is controlled by the Agnellis. Gaddafi's son, Al-Saadi Gaddafi, used to sit on the Juventus board and was even a player for Perugia and Udine. Libya at one stage considered bidding for the Roman club Lazio and also poured money into Triestina.

CAPITALIA

The Libyan Arab Foreign Bank had 2.58 percent of the bank, shortly before it was taken over by larger peer UniCredit. The Libyans are seen as close to Capitalia's former Chairman Cesare Geronzi, who headed Mediobanca and now chairs Assicurazioni Generali. On Wednesday, Geronzi said Libya was the best shareholder he ever had.

TEXTILES

Lafico holds 21.7 percent of Olcese, according to the textile company's website.

FINMECCANICA

Last year the Italian aerospace and defence company Finmeccanica SpA and Libya agreed to cooperate on aerospace and other projects in the Middle East and Africa.

Under the deal, a 50-50 joint venture between Finmeccanica and the Libya Africa Investment Portfolio will be created within a year and act as the main vehicle for investments.

ASSICURAZIONI GENERALI

Former Generali Chairman Antoine Bernheim said in April he and French-Tunisian businessman Tarak Ben Ammar had talked about a reserved capital increase for a Libyan investor at 25 euros a share. The deal broke down when a Generali shareholder wanted the Libyans to pay at least 29 euros per share, Bernheim said. (Editing by Charles Dick)

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