Trending: Eni Expands Natural Gas Business With Neptune Energy Deal

Eni is one of the most mentioned companies across news items over the past six hours, according to Factiva data, after reaching a $4.9 billion deal to buy Neptune Energy. The Italian oil-and-gas major and Var Energi have agreed to acquire Neptune's entire portfolio, aside from its business in Germany that will be carved out prior to the transaction, confirming a deal that had been rumored for some time. Var Energi is a company listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and is 63% owned by Eni. According to Jefferies' Giacomo Romeo and Alexatrini Tsiknia, the acquisition should result in a net price paid by Eni at closure of $2.1 billion-$2.2 billion. "This is consistent with Eni's plan to spend net $1 billion on inorganic investments between 2023 and 2026 and the 3%-4% production CAGR [compound annual growth rate] guidance," they say in a note. The deal is in line with Eni's strategy to expand the reach of its gas business, aiming to increase the share of natural-gas production to 60% by 2030, the company says. Neptune Energy's business operates in the U.K., the Netherlands, Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia and Australia. Dow Jones & Co. owns Factiva. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 23, 2023 06:59 ET (10:59 GMT)

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