
Italy's Eni enters exclusive talks with Ares fund for Plenitude stake
MILAN, May 15 (Reuters) - Italy's Eni (ENI.MI), opens new tab has entered exclusive talks with investment fund Ares Alternative Credit Management over the sale of a 20% stake in its renewable and retail arm Plenitude, the energy group said on Thursday.
Negotiations are based on an equity value of Plenitude between 9.8 and 10.2 billion euros, corresponding to an enterprise value of more than 12 billion euros ($13.4 billion).
($1 = 0.8939 euros)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Telegraph
25 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Miliband's latest misstep will pile unnecessary costs upon developers
Ed Miliband's attempt to lead this country was resoundingly rejected at the ballot box in 2015. Given his influence within the present Government, he may have had the last laugh. The Energy Secretary appears to have emerged triumphant in a clash with embattled Chancellor Rachel Reeves, securing the future of a £13 billion funding allocation for insulating properties across Britain, and very possibly triggering further tax rises this autumn. Having secured access to the fruits of your wallet, Mr Miliband has now turned his sights to redefining British architecture. Under plans revealed today, developers will be forced to install solar panels in the 'vast majority' of new houses, and gas boilers will effectively be banned in newbuilds in favour of heat pumps. The Energy Secretary claims that the moves could save households £500 a year on their energy bills, but appears to have neglected to consider the likely effect on development costs. There are few objections to people choosing to install solar panels, or choosing to buy a house with a heat pump. That builders confronted with market demand are not already supplying them suggests, however, that any premium people are willing to pay for these features will not cover the costs of installing them. The last thing Britain's capacity constrained housing market needs is another effort to pile unnecessary costs upon developers. Measures to ease building are drastically needed. Regrettably, Mr Miliband seems to think otherwise.


Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Farage ‘seeks less powerful chairman' after Yusuf quits
Nigel Farage is considering appointing a less powerful Reform UK chairman after the sudden departure of Zia Yusuf, The Telegraph understands. Senior party figures have discussed splitting the role into several positions when Mr Yusuf is replaced, following his dramatic resignation on Thursday. Reform sources told The Telegraph that the former chairman had 'rubbed some people up the wrong way', and that a key factor in his departure was high workload. 'He was on a mission, working 18 hours a day,' said one source. 'He was doing it all unpaid, and he expected everyone else to work equally hard.' Mr Farage and the party's officials are working out how to replace the 38-year-old businessman, who said he no longer thought it was 'a good use of his time' to work on getting Reform into government. It came after an apparent dispute between Mr Yusuf and other senior figures over whether the party should campaign to ban the burka, which was suggested by the newest Reform MP Sarah Pochin at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday. Mr Yusuf said later it was 'dumb' to suggest policies Reform did not support, but Lee Anderson, the Reform chief whip, said he backed a ban. Mr Farage and Richard Tice, the deputy leader, both said they thought there should be a 'debate' on face coverings, including burkas, in the UK. One party source said Mr Yusuf was 'unpopular' with other members of staff, and had become 'super stretched' in managing the day-to-day running of Reform and the party's new ' Doge ' efficiency drive in the ten councils it won in last month's local elections. That workload led him to become 'authoritarian' and a 'control freak', said another figure close to Reform. Mr Farage said on Thursday that Mr Yusuf brought a 'bit of a Goldman Sachs mentality' to the role, which others said was a coded reference to his high-pressure management style. But the Reform leader also said he was 'sad' his chairman was leaving, and that he had only ten minutes' notice that he intended to resign. The tipping point for Mr Yusuf came on Wednesday, when he learned of Ms Pochin's question about burkas to Sir Keir Starmer from reading about it online. Mr Yusuf, who is a Muslim, had been receiving abuse from far-Right trolls online, which Mr Farage said had become difficult for him to bear. He had also reportedly become frustrated that another staff member had taken control of the party's operations, and felt he had been isolated from conversations about policy. He said on Thursday: '11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I've worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30 per cent, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results. I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.' Multiple sources said Mr Yusuf had performed well in the job, but was not a popular figure within the team. 'He didn't do what a chairman is meant to do, which is to bring people in and bring them along with you,' said one Reform source, adding: 'He isolated a lot of the staff.' Another added: 'Everyone is very sad about it. He wasn't popular with the staff, but he did a good job in the role. It all happened very suddenly – he'd had enough.' The next chairman may be given a more traditional figurehead role within the party, rather than running its expansion, elections and financial affairs as Mr Yusuf did. Mr Farage could appoint a chief executive alongside a new chairman, using funds raised by Nick Candy, the Reform treasurer. Upcoming donations returns are expected to show that the party raised more than £2.5 million in the first quarter of this year – putting Reform in contention to be the biggest fundraiser among the Westminster parties. Both the Conservatives and Labour have suffered a cash crunch since last year's election, and have laid off staff members. Early contenders to replace Mr Yusuf include Andy Wigmore and Arron Banks, the ' bad boys of Brexit ' who worked with Mr Farage on the campaign in 2016. One figure close to the party said Mr Farage could approach Ann Widdecombe, the former Conservative MP and MEP who stood for Reform at the 2019 election. Ms Widdecombe, who said last month she disagreed with Reform's policy to expand access to the winter fuel allowance, told The Telegraph she had not been approached about the job. Mr Yusuf's departure is the latest in a series of internal disputes within Reform, including a public row between the chairman and Rupert Lowe, who was elected for the party last year but has since been ejected. Mr Yusuf did not respond to a request for comment.


Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
US oil/gas rig count falls for 6th week to 2021 lows, Baker Hughes says
June 6 (Reuters) - U.S. energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for a sixth week in a row for the first time since September 2023, energy services firm Baker Hughes (BKR.O), opens new tab said in its closely followed report on Friday. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by four to 559 in the week to June 6, the lowest since November 2021. , , Oil rigs fell by nine to 442 this week, while gas rigs rose by five to 114, Baker Hughes said. It said it has corrected oil and gas classifications for approximately eight to 10 rigs in the Marcellus and Utica basins, effective April 4. Total reported rig counts for all historical periods remain unchanged. Total rig counts in the Permian in West Texas and eastern New Mexico, the Eagle Ford in South Texas and in the state of Texas all fell this week to their lowest levels since November 2021. In Utah, meanwhile, the rig count fell this week to its lowest since February 2022. The oil and gas rig count declined by about 5% in 2024 and 20% in 2023 as lower U.S. oil and gas prices over the past couple of years prompted energy firms to focus more on boosting shareholder returns and paying down debt rather than increasing output. The independent exploration and production (E&P) companies tracked by U.S. financial services firm TD Cowen said they planned to cut capital expenditures by around 3% in 2025 from levels seen in 2024. That compares with roughly flat year-over-year spending in 2024, and increases of 27% in 2023, 40% in 2022 and 4% in 2021. Even though analysts forecast U.S. spot crude prices would decline for a third year in a row in 2025, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected crude output would rise from a record 13.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024 to around 13.4 million bpd in 2025. On the gas side, the EIA projected an 88% increase in spot gas prices in 2025 would prompt producers to boost drilling activity this year after a 14% price drop in 2024 caused several energy firms to cut output for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic reduced demand for the fuel in 2020. The EIA projected gas output would rise to 104.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2025, up from 103.2 bcfd in 2024 and a record 103.6 bcfd in 2023.