Italian energy group Eni SpA is close to a deal to acquire oil and gas explorer Neptune Energy Group Ltd. for about $5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Eni could announce a deal as soon as this week for private equity-backed Neptune, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. Eni is poised to beat suitors including TotalEnergies SE for the asset, the people said.
No final decision has been made and the timing of the deal could change, or the talks could still fall through, the people added. Neptune is backed by Carlyle Group Inc. and CVC Capital Partners.
Eni shares were up 0.6 percent at 9:15 a.m. in Milan on Wednesday, valuing the company at 46 billion euros ($50 billion).
Representatives for Eni, Neptune, Carlyle and CVC declined to comment.
Eni has had Neptune on its radar since at least late last year as the company looks to expand its natural gas business, Bloomberg News reported. Reuters reported on June 6 that Eni had entered into exclusive talks.
Approximately three quarters of Neptune’s production comes from natural gas in the North Sea, North Africa and Asia, all regions where Eni operates.
Formed in 2015 by former Centrica Plc boss Sam Laidlaw, Neptune has several offshore oil and gas operations in the UK, Norway and the Netherlands, where it says it is the largest gas producer in the Dutch offshore sector of the North, according to its website.
Energy deals have been relatively resilient this year, with the sector down 15 percent to $143 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show — a much less severe drop than the 43 percent drop in hiring wider Much of the activity has focused on switching to cleaner forms of energy.
–With the assistance of William Mathis and Alberto Brambilla.
