Oil Major Eni To Seek $17B Valuation Of Renewables Unit In IPO

Italian oil and gas major Eni plans to seek a valuation of up to $17.4 billion for its renewables and retail business in the initial public offering of the unit next year, sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, Eni said that it had decided that an IPO in 2022 was the best plan forward to maximize the value of its newly merged Gas & Power retail and renewables business and launched the process for the listing.

The Italian oil major will keep a majority stake in the listed company, it said in early October. Still, Eni Retail and Renewables (Eni R&R) will be financially independent with its own balance sheet and an investment grade credit rating, which would allow it to access debt at competitive costs and fund growth, Eni says.

The IPO is expected on the Milan stock exchange, Bloomberg’s sources said today. The expected growth in the retail and renewables business has prompted advisers to value Eni R&R at between $14 billion (12 billion euro) and $17.4 billion (15 billion euro), the sources added.

The IPO, which Eni expects will take place next year subject to market conditions, is set to be one of Italy’s largest listings in recent years and a major transaction in the global oil and gas industry, Bloomberg notes.

“An IPO will unlock significant value, positioning the business for growth and helping both Eni and its customers reach net zero emissions,” Eni’s chief executive Claudio Descalzi said earlier this month when the oil major announced it would list Retail and Renewables.

Eni is one of the European majors with the most ambitious targets for carbon neutrality and growth in renewables. It includes Scope 3 emissions—the ones generated from the use of its products—in its targets for carbon neutrality in 2050. By that year, Eni plans to have installed 60 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity globally, up from 1 GW in 2020. The company also plans to expand bio-refining capacity, and natural gas to account for more than 90 percent of its upstream production in 2050.  

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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