by Shadia Nasralla and Ron Bousso
LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) – Energy group Eni is engaged in preliminary talks to buy oil and gas producer Neptune Energy for between $5 billion and $6 billion (4.82-5.78 billion euros), according to a source familiar with the matter.
No official offer has been submitted, the source said.
Neptune produces around 130,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), three-quarters of which is gas. The company is present in particular in Norway – where the subsidiary of Eni Var Energi is located -, in Great Britain, in Indonesia – where the two companies share licenses, – in Algeria or in the Netherlands.
The group is owned by China Investment Corporation (CIC), the Carlyle Group and CVC Capital Partners.
Neptune forecasts after-tax operating cash flow of $2.5 billion to $3 billion in 2022 and expects production to reach 165,000 boe/d next year.
A banking source confirmed that talks had taken place in recent weeks, but that the outcome was “far from guaranteed”, given the differences in valuation.
Eni and Neptune declined to comment.
Founded by Sam Laidlaw, the former head of British company Centrica, Neptune was preparing to go public but conditions in the financial markets made it difficult to launch such an operation at the moment, its managing director Pete said in August. Jones. (with contributions by Francesca Landini; French version Dagmarah Mackos, editing by Kate Entringer)
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