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