Italian Defense Undersecretary Roberta Pinotti said aerospace and defense group Finmeccanica had approved the sale of its majority stake in Ansaldo Energia to state-backed Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP). "The sale of Ansaldo to CDP, an operation on which the government has worked, has gone through," Pinotti had said on Italian radio. Reuters said Finmeccanica would be poised to raise not less than EUR400 million from the exit.

Ansaldo Energia is a power engineering company based in Genoa. The company produces power turbines. 55% of Ansaldo is owned by Finmeccanica, while the rest is owned by US private equity firm First Reserve.

A source who was close to the transaction told Reuters on Thursday that members of the board of Finmeccanica's  would be meeting today. The agenda would revolve on details regarding CDP's buyout offer. CDP would be taking around 80%-90% of the power engineering company, the source added.