Italian Eni Sold 10% of Shares of Its Former Division Saipem for Debts
Italian Eni announced that it has completed the sale of a 10% stake in oilfield group Saipem at a price of €1.97 per share, for a total transaction amount of €393 million.
In mid-March, Eni said it would sell assets to curb rising debt and focus on core activities. Obviously, the sale of a stake in its former subsidiary, the oilfield services company Saipem, which is engaged in both onshore and offshore drilling, fits into this strategy.
The sale began late on June 11 as part of an accelerated procedure for building a portfolio of shares.
Eni said in a statement that it currently owns about 21.19% of Saipem’s capital, of which about 12.5% is under an agreement between the company and Italian state lender CDP through its CDP Equity mutual fund.
Saipem shares closed on June 11 at €2.065 per share.
On June 11, the rating agency S&P downgraded Eni’s outlook to “negative,” writes Reuters.
