PRESS RELEASE

LEGALITY RATING BY THE ANTITRUST AUTHORITY OF THE COMPANY AEROPORTI DI PUGLIA

The Antitrust Authority has attributed a legality rating to the company Aeroporti di Puglia with a score of two “small stars” and two “ ”. This score was assigned in relation to the basic requirements (the first “small star”) and to the award requirements (the other “small star” and the two “ ”) envisaged by law. The company’s headquarters is in Bari and in 2013 it had a total turnover of over €80 million and employed 338 workers.

In particular, on 11 May 2015 the anti-corruption authority informed the Antitrust Authority that there were no financial penalties or fines against the company and neither were there any computer records or measures regarding compulsory administration. At the offices of the relevant public prosecutors’ offices no pending charges or firm convictions were found against the company’s executives. Finally, it was ascertained that Aeroporti di Puglia S.p.A. has not undergone any measures of condemnation by the same Antitrust Authority and by the European Commission for antitrust offences.

Approved by Parliament at the end of 2012, the legality rating is a “reward” tool with which the Antitrust Authority was assigned the task of assigning a score, from one to three “small stars”, to honest businesses with a turnover that exceeds €2.0 million annually and that meet a series of legal requirements. To obtain a “small star”, the owner of the company and the other executives must not have criminal or tax proceedings. Besides not having been sentenced in the previous two years for antitrust offences, the company must make payments and financial transactions that are over €1,000 only by means of traceable systems. To obtain a higher score, the Rules indicate six other requirements: two “small stars” if half of these requirements are met, three “small stars” if all these requirements are met.

The Rating assigned by the Antitrust Authority, as required by law, “is taken into account in the granting of loans by the public administration, as well as when gaining access to bank credit”. Under the same legislation, “credit institutions that fail to take into account the rating assigned at the time when granting finance to business are bound to submit to the Banca d'Italia a detailed report on the reasons behind the decision taken”.

Rome, 3 July 2015