Uniper in advanced talks to sell Italy LNG plant stake: sources

Germany`s Uniper is in advanced talks with Australian fund First State Investments to sell its stake in a liquefied natural gas terminal in Italy, three sources said on Wednesday, in a move that is raising political eyebrows in Rome.

"There`s no final deal yet but First State is about to make a binding bid," one of the sources said, adding the deal valued the terminal at around 800 million euros ($909 million).

Energy firm Uniper holds a 48.24 percent stake in the OLT LNG terminal, while Italian multi-utility Iren owns 49.07 percent. The two shareholders invested around 900 million euros to build the plant back in 2013.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Italy`s Foreign Office Junior Minister Guglielmo Picchi said the government should carry out a preventive review before any sale to protect national security.

"More caution and sharing is needed before (strategic assets) are sold by Germans to Australians," he said. ($1 = 0.8803 euros)

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)