Frontis Backs Calls for Rejection of Government’s Enel Slate

(Bloomberg) -- Italian proxy adviser Frontis has backed calls for Enel SpA shareholders to turn down the government’s candidate for chairman of the company, in a clash over nominations made by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

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Ahead of a shareholders’ meeting to pick the new board of state-controlled utility Enel on May 10, Frontis rejected the government’s slate for the board and described its pick for the chairmanship Paolo Scaroni, an industry veteran and ex-CEO at oil major Eni SpA, as not independent, according to a report seen by Bloomberg.

Frontis instead supported banking executive Marco Mazzucchelli as the next chairman, and a slate proposed by London-based fund Covalis Capital which says it owns about 1% of Enel’s shares.

Frontis said in an online statement later Sunday that its report was carried out for a single investor client. It added that it does not issue voting recommendations to investors in general, and that its analyses are based on guidelines from each client.

Read more: Battle for Enel Heats Up as Glass Lewis, Mondrian Defy Italy (2)

Mazzucchelli was initially proposed earlier this month by Covalis which came out against the government’s list of board candidates, calling the nomination process “opaque.”

Key proxy adviser Glass Lewis & Co. LLC, as well as Mondrian Investment Partners which says it owns about 1.7% of Enel, have backed Mazzucchelli.

The dispute marks the first-ever shareholder battle over board nominations at Enel, Italy’s largest listed company, and is a stark challenge to Meloni who’s sought to portray her right-wing government as pro-business.

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