Italian giant Eni is set to net US$507.8 million (€463 million) from the Saipem stake sale to Fondo Strategico Italiano (FSI).
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Descalzi. Image from Eni. |
The price for each Saipem share has been valued at $9.204 (€8.396) in the deal with FSI that was revealed last week.
According to the contract, FSI will get nearly 55.2 million shares in Saipem, which equals to 12.5% of the share capital plus one share, an amount that will slightly be above 25%.
The agreement is for a period of three years, with automatic renewal for a further period of three years, unless terminated by notice.
Upon closing of the deal, Eni will lose exclusive control over its subsidiary Saipem. Its remaining stake will be deconsolidated from the date on which the sale of the transferred stake will be executed and will be registered in Eni’s financial statements according to the equity method, Eni said in a statement last week.
According to Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi, the deal marks a significant step in Eni’s transformation strategy.
“It enables us to focus on our core activities and to enhance our financial flexibility. The additional financial resources will be used to develop the very significant oil and gas reserves we have discovered over the past few years and to strengthen our balance sheet in line with our targets,” Descalzi said last week.
Also last week, Saipem requested its investors for up to $3.8 billion (€3.5 billion) in capital to scale back its debt, at the same time as the company reported a 13% decrease in its revenue for Q3 2015.
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