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Eni's board approved the sale of 178,559,406 shares, corresponding to 5.28 percent of the voting shares, through an accelerated bookbuilding procedure, the statement said.
Goldman Sachs as the sole bookrunner is carrying out an accelerated placement to qualified and Italian investors.
In June, Eni's chief executive Paolo Scaroni said that sovereign funds had shown interest in buying part of Eni's stake in Snam.