Italy’s Eni Looks to Sell Up to 49% of Biomethane Unit

(Bloomberg) -- Eni Spa has hired the French investment bank Natixis SA to search for investors interested in buying a minority stake in Enibioch4in Spa, its biomethane operation, Corriere della Sera reported. 

The Italian energy giant is planning to sell as much as 49% of the division, yet it’s too early for an evaluation and negotiations haven’t started with potential suitors, the Italian newspaper reported without saying where it got the information. 

Enibioch4in is controlled by the biorefining and mobility unit Enilive, and oversees the entire supply chain for biomethane, a gas produced from agricultural and organic waste, Corriere said. 

Eni declined to comment to the newspaper. 

The reported potential sale is part of an ongoing reorganization effort by Eni aimed at helping fund a transition to gas and renewable energy. Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi is pursuing a so-called satellite model for the company, which entails listing divisions or partnering with external investors to develop them. 

Eni did that with the renewables unit Plenitude, and plans the same for biorefining arm Enilive and its carbon capture unit, which already attracted interest from the gas network operator Snam Spa. 

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