Eni chairman says all options open for Saipem stake
Emma Marcegaglia, the chairman of listed petroleum group Eni, has said that all options are open with regard to the sale of its 43% stake in oil services group Saipem, Italian language daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported. The report cited Marcegaglia as saying that the priority for Eni was to deconsolidate Saipem's debt.
The item also said Marcegaglia did not rule out a sale of a stake in Saipem to CdP, the holding of the Italian Treasury,, However, Marcegaglia added that Eni was pursuing a number of scenarios and that it was only in the initial stages of deciding the fate of its stake in Saipem.
The report interpreted Marcegaglia's remarks as an indication that Eni was in no hurry to sell its stake in Saipem, especially since Saipem was carrying out a restructuring to allow it to deal with the worsening market caused by the fall in oil price.
As previously reported, CdP holds a 26% stake in Eni.
Saipem has a market cap of EUR 3.45bn.
Il Sole 24 Ore