Clifford Chance and Shearman & Sterling have lined up with a group of Italian firms to advise on the partial privatisation of the Italian post office.

The Italian government is planning to float approximately 40% of the company and expects to raise up to €4bn (£2.94bn).

The company has applied to the Milan Stock Exchange for listing and the float is expected to take place in October.

Clifford Chance and Brancadoro Mirabile are acting for Italian Post, Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners is advising the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Chiomenti Studio Legale and Shearman & Sterling are acting for the joint bookrunners on the deal.

Clifford Chance's team on the deal is being led by Rome administrative law head Aristide Police.

He is being supported by corporate partner Paolo Sersale and litigation partner Carlo Felice Giampaolino, both based in the firm's Milan office.

Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners is fielding a team led by the head of the firm's corporate department Francesco Gianni. Also on the deal are finance partner Andrea Marani, tax head Luciano Acciari and tax partner Fabio Chiarenza.

Shearman declined to give details of its involvement in the flotation.

The joint bookrunners for the deal are Banca IMI, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Global Markets, Mediobanca, Banca di Credito Finanziario, UniCredit Corporate & Investment Banking, Credit Suisse Securities (Europe), Goldman Sachs International, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley & Co and UBS.

In March Clifford Chance acted for China National Chemical (ChemChina) on the debt structuring aspects of its takeover bid for Italian tyremaker Pirelli. Its team on that deal was led by finance partners Charles Adams and Giuseppe de Palma in Milan.