Eni Names Retail and Renewables Unit ‘Plenitude’ Ahead of Next Year’s IPO

(Bloomberg) -- Italian energy giant Eni SpA said its retail and renewables unit will be named Plenitude ahead of its initial public offering in Milan next year.

Eni unveiled financial goals for the unit on Monday, saying it’ll target earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 1.3 billion euros ($1.47 billion) in 2025. Cash flow from operations is seen at about 1 billion euros.

Plenitude’s listing, at a moment when energy majors are seeking to squeeze more value out of their renewable portfolios, will help Eni expand that business and give investors visibility on its value. The company will seek a valuation for the unit of as much as 15 billion euros, Bloomberg reported in October. 

Plenitude will be financially independent, with its own balance sheet, and its net debt will start at “around zero” in January, according to a presentation on Monday. It will have an annual investment program of about 1.8 billion euros, funded by its own cash flow and borrowing.

Eni plans to retain a majority stake in the unit following the listing, which was announced earlier this year. 

The energy company said last month that the unit is on target to develop more than 6 gigawatts of renewable capacity by 2025 and more than 15 gigawatts by 2030, with its retail customer base growing to more than 15 million from 10 million over the period.

Plenitude also has its own environmental strategy, “targeting to supply 100% of decarbonized energy to all its customers by 2040, supporting Eni’s net-zero CO2 Scope 3 objectives,” the company said in a statement.

Eni’s outlook for cutting greenhouse gases has been upgraded to global net-zero absolute emissions and intensity by 2050, compared with an earlier goal of an 80% reduction. Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi has said curtailing Eni’s so-called Scope 3 CO2 emission count is a top priority. 

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.