Eni (E) said Thursday it entered a period of exclusivity with Ares Alternative Credit Management to negotiate a definitive agreement for the sale of a 20% stake in Plenitude at an equity valuation of 9.8 billion ($10.98 billion) to 10.2 billion euros.
The deal sets Plenitude's enterprise value at over 12 billion euros, Eni said.
Eni said Ares Alternative Credit Management was selected from a process that involved "several prominent international players" interested in the stake.