By Francesca Landini
MILAN (Reuters) – Italian energy group Eni expects net proceeds of 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) from additional divestments to be completed next year, Chief Transition & Financial Officer Francesco Gattei said on Friday.
The group announced on Thursday that US investment group KKR would buy 25% of its biofuel unit Enilive for 2.9 billion euros as part of Eni’s strategy to divest new businesses with high growth potential to boost its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions to urgently finance.
“We will have a cash-in of 3.6 billion euros this year and we expect additional divestments next year, with a cash-in of around 2.5 billion euros,” Gattei said during a conference call.
He said Eni could sell a second stake in Enilive, likely bringing the size to less than 10%.
Sources told Reuters last month that US funds Stonepeak and Apollo were in talks with Eni about the possible sale of a second stake in Enilive.
Eni is also in contact with potential buyers of a stake in its carbon capture and storage activities.
“We are currently in discussions with five, six investors who are interested in taking a stake in our CCS business,” Gattei said.
He added that Eni might sell a second stake in retail and sustainable unit Plenitude and one in bioplastics company Novamont, confirming what sources had told Reuters.
Apollo and Norwegian private equity fund HitecVision are among the contenders for the second stake in Plenitude after Swiss asset manager Energy Infrastructure Partners bought a 7.6% stake in the unit in March, sources said.
Eni was also in negotiations to find a partner to develop a recent upstream discovery, Gattei said, without elaborating.
Shares in Eni closed 1.4% higher on Friday after the group said it would increase its share buyback program to 2 billion euros following better-than-expected third-quarter results.
($1 = 0.9231 euros)
(Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Rod Nickel)
