ROME (Reuters) - Poste Italiane will soon buy a stake in Italy's SIA, a government source said on Tuesday, as the recently privatised Italian post office expands its payment business.
Poste Italian already reaps part of its 31 billion euro (26 billion pounds) annual revenues from payment services offered to families and businesses. SIA, which had revenue of 449 million euros in 2015, is a leading provider of bank payments.
SIA is 49.5 percent owned by Italian state financing agency Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) through FSIA Investimenti, while infrastructure fund F2i, which has CDP among its shareholders, owns another 17 percent. Various Italian banks hold minority stakes.
"In the next few weeks Poste will take a stake in SIA by sealing a deal with CDP," the source said.
It was not immediately clear if Poste would take a direct stake or invest in FSIA. ($1 = 0.8893 euros)