23 September 2015, News Wires – Saipem is closing in on a $3.35 billion cash raising effort and a sale of a stake to stake holding Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), according to a report.
The cash-strapped oilfield services player is locked in talks with the CDP over a stake sale, with a deal to be announced at the end of October, Reuters reported, citing unidentified sources.
At the same time the subsidiary of Italian major Eni will unveil a €3 billion ($3.35 billion) capital increase plan, the news wire said.
Eni chairwoman Emma Marcegaglia was quoted as saying early this month that the oil company was in touch with the CDP about shoring up Saipem’s balance sheet. At that time one of the solutions said to be under consideration was the CDP taking a stake.
Eni is thought to be looking to sell down its 43% stake in Saipem, which has recently seen a large and lucrative Black Sea pipeline deal with a Gazprom-led consortium quashed.
Saipem’s contract – originally to lay the first line of the South Stream pipeline, a project that was to transport gas from Russia to Bulgaria via the Black Sea but has been cancelled – was terminated in July after the Italian player and the project’s operator failed to agree new contractual terms. The original contract was worth €2.4 billion.
South Stream was subsequently scrapped in favour of TurkStream, a pipeline set to bring gas from Russia to the European side of Turkey. Like South Stream, it is set for capacity of 63 billion cubic metres of gas per annum. However, this now looks set for a lengthy delay, too.
- Upstream