Carlyle, CIC and CVC agree sale of Neptune Energy to Eni and Vår Energi

• Neptune is an exploration and production company
• The global business enterprise value will be about $2.6 billion
• The Norwegian part will have an enterprise value of around $2.3 billion

Neptune Energy Group – an exploration and production company owned by the Carlyle Group, China Investment Corporation, CVC Capital Partners and management – is to be sold to Eni and Vår Energi.

Founded in 2015, Neptune has gas-oriented assets and operations in Western Europe, North Africa, Indonesia and Australia.

Eni, an Italian multinational energy company headquartered in Rome, will acquire Neptune’s entire portfolio other than its operations in Germany and Norway, dubbed Neptune Global. The enterprise value will be around $2.6 billion and will be funded through available liquidity.

Neptune Global reported annual revenues in 2022 of around $1.22 billion and EBITDAX of around $950 million. As of 31 December, the net debt of Neptune Global, pro forma for the sale of the Norway business, was around $500 million.

Vår, a Sandnes-headquartered upstream oil and gas company on the Norwegian continental shelf, will acquire the Norwegian operations under a separate share purchase agreement. It will close immediately before the Eni deal, with the proceeds from the Norway sale staying with the business purchased by Eni. The Norwegian part of the deal will have an enterprise value of $2.3 billion.

The German operations will be carved out before the deal.

Carlyle is a Washington DC-headquartered private equity firm.

China Investment Corporation is a Chinese sovereign wealth fund.

CVC Capital Partners is a Luxembourg-based private equity and investment advisory firm.