Eni to buy oil and gas company Neptune Energy in $5bn deal

Italian company's subsidiary, Var Energi, will acquire Neptune's Norwegian business for $2.3bn

The oil and gas company founded by the former boss of Centrica, which owns British Gas, has confirmed that it will be sold to Italy's Eni for almost $5bn (3.9m) in one of Europe's largest oil and gas takeovers in a decade.

Neptune Energy, which was established by Sam Laidlaw five years ago, said Eni had agreed to buy the company for $2.6bn, while Eni's Norwegian-listed subsidiary, Var Energi, will acquire Neptune's Norwegian business for $2.3bn.