Italian energy giant Eni to sell 11.7% stake worth $1.98 bn in Snam

Italian oil and gas company Eni S.p.A. yesterday said that it will sell 11.7-per cent stake worth around €1.5 billion ($1.98 billion) in natural-gas operator Snam.

Eni will sell around 395 million shares at price range of €3.69 to €3.77. At the top end of the price range, the sale is expected to fetch the oil and gas giant around €1.5 billion ($1.98 billion)

Rome-based Eni said in a statement that the sale is reserved for Italian and international institutional investors, and will use the proceeds from the sale for general corporate purposes.

Following the sale, Eni will hold an 8.54 per cent in Snam underlying the €1,250 million convertible bond placed on 18 January 2013 and due on 18 January 2016, the company added in the statement.

The previous Italian government, headed by Prime Minister Mario Monti, had in May 2012 issued a decree that required Eni to offload at least 25.1 per cent of Snam - Italy's biggest gas grid, storage and distribution company by volume, as part of a plan to boost competition in Italy's gas pipeline network.

The decree ordered state-controlled Eni to sell its 52-per cent stake in Snam with a rider that at least 25.1 per cent to be sold to state-controlled lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), while the rest can be sold to investors.

A few days following this decree, Eni sold 30 per cent less one share in Snam to CDP for $4.36 billion.

Eni is Italy's largest company by market value, with a market capitalisation of €67.2 billion and 2012 revenues of €127.2 billion.