Italian energy group Eni sells 20% of Plenitude to Ares for $2.3 billion

By Francesca Landini

MILAN, June 23 (Reuters) - Italian energy group Eni ENI.MI has sold a 20% stake in its retail and renewables business Plenitude to U.S. alternative investment manager Ares Management Corp ARES.N for about 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion), it said on Monday.

The transaction is part of the Italian group's long-term strategy to find partners to jointly develop its businesses and follows the sale of a 10% stake in Plenitude to Swiss investment fund Energy Infrastructure Partners.

"Plenitude is an established leader in energy transition, with a differentiated business model and an outstanding track record," said Stefano Questa, co-head of European Alternative Credit at Ares.

Deutsche Bank and UniCredit advised Ares, while Goldman Sachs and Mediobanca supported Eni on the deal, which gives Plenitude a 10 billion euro equity value, rising above 12 billion when including debt.

Plenitude operates in more than 15 countries and combines more than 4 gigawatts of renewable energy production with a power and gas retail business. It has more than 10 million customers and manages a network of 21,500 charging points for electric vehicles.

Ares, which had been looking to grow its presence in Italy, invested in Plenitude through its Ares Alternative Credit strategy, an asset-based finance operator which managed around $43 billion in assets at the end of March.

The overall platform of Ares Management, a global leader in private credit, had around $546 billion of assets under management at the end of March.

($1 = 0.8693 euros)