Eni sells 10% of Saipem at 1.970 euros per share

ROME (Reuters) -Italian energy company Eni said on Wednesday it had completed the sale of 10% of the share capital of oilfield group Saipem at 1.970 euros per share for a total value of 393 million euros ($421.96 million).

The sale was launched late on Tuesday through an accelerated bookbuilding procedure.

Eni said in a statement it now holds around 21.19% of Saipem's capital, of which some 12.5% is covered by the existing shareholders' agreement between the company and Italian state lender CDP through its unit CDP Equity,

Saipem stock closed at 2.065 euros per share on Tuesday.

Eni said in mid-March it would sell assets to keep a lid on debt and focus on core activities, laying out plans for 8 billion euros ($8.59 billion) of net proceeds through 2027.

Ratings agency S&P on Tuesday cut the company's outlook to 'negative', citing expected higher leverage over the next two years.

Since issuing a profit warning in 2022 Saipem has carried out a successful capital hike, restructured its operations and changed its top management.

The sale to institutional investors was managed by Citigroup, Goldman Sachs International, Intesa Sanpaolo, Natixis and UniCredit, Eni said.

Under the terms of the placement it will not sell additional shares of Saipem on the market for 180 days.

($1 = 0.9314 euros)

(Reporting by Cristina Carlevaro; Editing by Gavin Jones)