Based on the financial facts provided for ITALGAS S.P.A. for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, the following assessment leads to the recommendation: 1. **Low Refinancing Needs and Capital Structure Setup**: Italgas ended the year with remarkably low short-term financial liabilities (reducing from €591 million to just €142 million). Despite having executed a significant acquisition (evidenced by €874 million in investments in changes in scope of consolidation, which relates to the DEPA Infrastructure acquisition), this was comfortably funded primarily by drawing down on substantial existing cash reserves. Cash and cash equivalents went from nearly €1.39 billion to a normalized €452 million, meaning the total gross debt only slightly increased (from ~€6.37 billion to ~€6.54 billion). Therefore, the company does not face pressing refinancing requirements. 2. **No Current Hybrid Debt**: The capital structure consists firmly of common equity (€2.39 billion) and senior liabilities. The company does not currently rely on hybrid bonds to support its metrics, and introducing them now would be structurally novel for its current profile. 3. **Cost of Issuance**: During 2022, global macroeconomic tightening caused a spike in interest rates. The swap curves increased substantially (e.g., 5Y Swap rose from negative territory in 2021 to ~1.73%), and the subordinated-to-senior spread (Sub-Sen Delta) widened significantly to ~2.30%. Issuing hybrid bonds in this environment would materially increase the company's weighted average cost of capital and cost of debt without a matching necessity. 4. **Credit Metric Stability**: Being a regulated gas utility (with a low-volatility business risk profile), Italgas benefits from stable, highly predictable cash flows. Its FFO to Debt and Debt to EBITDA metrics remain at levels commensurate with a solid investment-grade rating (BBB+ range). While net debt increased following the absorption of the acquisition, the overall leverage trajectory remains well-controlled without the need to artificially bolster equity through hybrid bonds. Because of the adequate liquidity, fully funded acquisition, absence of legacy hybrids, and the expensive environment for subordinated debt issuance, Italgas has no fundamental need to issue hybrid bonds. 0%