Italian energy company Eni announced today that it has signed an exclusivity agreement with alternative asset and private equity investor KKR to advance the potential sale of a 20% – 25% stake of Eni’s mobility transformation and biofuels-focused business, Enilive.

The potential transaction would value Enilive at between €11.5 billion and €12.5 billion (USD$12.5 – $13.6 billion).

Eni launched the Enilive brand in 2023, with the goal of offering integrated services and products that are progressively decarbonized by 2050, converging the company’s mobility activities, including its biorefining and biomethane assets, and smart mobility solutions, as well as the distribution of mobility energy carriers through its more than 5,000 Enilive Stations in Europe. Eni has announced plans for Enilive to more than double its biorefining capacity from 2023 to 2026 to more than 3 million tons, and to reach more than 5 million tons per year by 2030.

According to Eni, the potential transaction forms part of its “satellite model strategy” to attract capital from partners to fund growth and highlight the value creation of its new businesses, while preserving free cash flow from traditional businesses for shareholder distribution.

The acquisition would mark the latest in a series of energy transition and sustainable infrastructure-focused transactions for KKR, and follows the identification by the firm in December 2023 of decarbonization, and the large scale “brown-to-green” transition of asset-heavy sectors in particular, as a key “mega-theme” driving investment opportunities.