Story by Bloomberg

Eni SpA sold its remaining 4 percent stake in Galp Energia SGPS SA as the Italian oil producer disposes of assets that aren’t part of its main business.

Eni raised 325 million euros ($347 million) by selling 33.1 million shares of Portugal’s biggest oil company at 9.81 euros apiece to institutional investors, the Rome-based company said in a statement on Friday.

The sale comes after Eni last month disposed of a 12.5 percent stake in Saipem SpA in a bid to remove Italy’s oil services company’s debt from its balance sheet. Oil producers are selling assets and cutting costs after the price of crude slumped by more than 60 percent over the past 18 months. Eni has raised a total of 3.28 billion euros since it started disposing of its original 33.3 percent stake in Galp in 2012.

“They are clearly trying to re-cash their business by getting rid of Saipem, the Galp stake,” Aneek Haq, a London-based analyst at Exane BNP Paribas said by phone. “From managing their business perspective, they’re taking all the right steps, disposing the assets that are non-core in their business.”

Galp dropped as much as 5.4 percent and was 2.8 percent lower at 9.78 euros as of 11:04 a.m. in Lisbon trading. Eni fell 1.3 percent at 14.73 euros a share in Milan.

Exane BNP Paribas maintained its underperform recommendation on Eni shares with a price target of 11.50 euros.


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