Eni Adds Six Banks for IPO of $11 Billion Renewables Unit – EQ Mag Pro
Eni SpA has picked six more banks to work on the initial public offering of its retail and renewables unit Plenitude, which could be valued at about 10 billion euros ($11.3 billion), according to people familiar with the matter.
The Italian energy giant has hired Barclays Plc, Bank of America Corp., BNP Paribas SA, Deutsche Bank AG, Equita Group SpA and UniCredit SpA as bookrunners for the Milan IPO, which could kick off as soon as May, the people said.
Eni could look to raise as much as 2.3 billion euros from the listing, which would make it one of Europe’s largest this year, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. The IPO is being run by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Credit Suisse Group AG and Mediobanca, the people said.
Representatives for Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Eni, Equita, Goldman Sachs, Mediobanca and UniCredit declined to comment.
Bloomberg News reported last year that Eni could seek a valuation of as much as 15 billion euros for Plenitude in a listing.
IPO candidates have since had to reassess expectations as a darkening geopolitical landscape and increasingly hawkish central banks have piled pressure on equity markets. The poor performance of some of last year’s marquee listings, and the shelving of several recent deals, is also weighing on appetite for IPOs.
Eni plans to retain a majority stake in Plenitude after the IPO, which comes as energy majors seek to squeeze more value from their renewable portfolios. The listing of Plenitude will help Eni expand the business and give investors better visibility on its value.
Source: Bloomberg
