 In 1980 Mario Schimberni became chairman and negotiated the sale of the state-owned shares to Gemina, a consortium of banks and private companies, in order to free Montedison from government interference.Through a rigorous cost-cutting plan and joint-ventures with Mitsui and Hercules Inc. Schimberni transformed the money-losing manufacturer of commodity chemicals and plastics into a profitable diversified holding company.In 1985 Raul Gardini, an agri-business tycoon, started buying into Montedison, and by 1987 he came to own 40 per cent of the company's shares, thus taking over the company and forcing Schimberni to leave.