MILAN - Italian energy group Eni could spin off stakes in high-potential oil and gas projects, including in Indonesia and Ivory Coast, to help finance their development while focusing more capital on low-carbon activities, company sources said.
"The satellite model is an approach we have built to have additional funding sources to keep together the need to meet demand for traditional products, while also developing new, greener products," Chief Financial Officer Francesco Gattei told Reuters. The strategy - a unique approach among oil and gas majors seeking to branch out into renewables - is aimed at showing investors the potential of early-stage businesses that struggle to compete with the returns of traditional oil and gas operations, Gattei told Reuters.
"Vaar and Azule have the loosest link with their parent company since they fund their capital expenditures and have their own debt, which is not consolidated in the group," Gattei said, adding the two paid dividends to the parent company.A recent deal with Swiss asset manager Energy Infrastructure Partners valued Plenitude at 10 billion euros including debt or 10 times 2024 expected core earnings, versus a valuation of Eni group between 3 and 4 times core earnings.
Rainforth said a strategic placing for Enilive could set a valuation reference point for the unit, and a listing could be a catalyst for Eni's share price."We remain unconvinced that the value crystallization events in Eni's satellites will be recognised by investors unless proceeds are received and utilised towards shareholder returns at the group level," said RBC Head of Energy Transition Research Biraj Borkhataria.