Sosteneo has agreed to buy 49 percent of Enel Libra Flexsys, the Enel subsidiary building 23 battery projects across Italy, for an enterprise value of $1.32 billion. Leap's per MW figure for the deal is $0.51 million. That number looks low for batteries under construction with 15 years of contracted revenue. It is also measuring the wrong thing.
Key takeaways
- Sosteneo Infrastructure Partners agreed on 1 March 2024 to acquire a 49 percent stake in Enel Libra Flexsys, a subsidiary of Enel, for an enterprise value of $1.32 billion, including an equity value of about $1.19 billion; the deal completed on 26 June 2024.
- Enel Libra Flexsys holds 23 battery energy storage projects with a combined 1.7 GW of power capacity and three open cycle gas turbine renovation projects totalling 900 MW, all in Italy.
- Enerdatics understands that most of the Enel Libra Flexsys battery projects have a storage duration of four hours, for a cumulative capacity of about 6.8 GWh.
- The Enel Libra Flexsys assets were awarded under Italy's Capacity Market 2024 auction held in 2022, with revenues secured through long-term contracts with Enel and capacity payments backed by grid operator Terna over 15 years.
- Grossed up from 49 percent to 100 percent, the Sosteneo price implies about $2.71 billion for the whole company, or about $1.04 million per MW across its 2,600 MW, roughly double the $0.51 million per MW computed on the stake alone.
What is Sosteneo actually buying?
Sosteneo is buying a minority share of a contracted construction programme, not control of a battery fleet. Enel keeps control of Enel Libra Flexsys and will manage the projects under the partnership model in its 2024 to 2026 strategic plan. Sosteneo, a specialist clean energy infrastructure manager within the Generali Investments platform, takes the economic exposure without the operating role.
A capacity market pays asset owners to be available when the grid needs them, rather than only for the energy they deliver. That is what makes these batteries financeable before they are finished. Their revenue does not depend mainly on trading power at the right moment. It depends on a 15-year availability payment backed by Terna, the national transmission operator, plus long-term contracts with Enel itself.
The portfolio is spread across ten regions, from Piedmont and Lombardy to Lazio and Sardinia, with just under half of the plants on Sardinia. Most of the sites sit at thermal power stations that are closed or closing. Construction began in mid-2023, with the batteries expected to operate in 2024.
Why does the $0.51 million per MW figure mislead?
Because it divides the price of 49 percent by 100 percent of the capacity. Leap's structured value for the deal is $1,326.2 million, and Leap computes $0.51 million per MW by dividing that across the full 2,600 MW. But Sosteneo is not buying 2,600 MW. It is buying just under half of a company that owns them.
The way the money moves supports reading the $1.32 billion as the price of the stake. Enel expects its consolidated net debt to fall by about $1.19 billion on closing, which matches the equity value Sosteneo is paying. That is cash arriving for the 49 percent. Grossing up on that basis gives about $2.71 billion for the whole of Enel Libra Flexsys and about $1.04 million per MW.
Even that figure blends two kinds of asset. A third of the 2,600 MW is gas turbine renovation rather than storage, and the record does not split the value between the battery and gas portfolios. So the grossed-up number is the most defensible headline, but not a clean battery multiple.
How large is this deal for Sosteneo?
Larger than the fund that made it, on Leap's later records. When Sosteneo announced the close of its first clean energy infrastructure fund in August 2025, Leap recorded about $724.18 million of capital commitments and about $93.44 million of co-investment, a total of $817.62 million. The equity value of the Enel stake alone was about $1.19 billion.
The records do not say how that gap was bridged, and that is the unresolved part of this deal. What they do show is how central it became. Sosteneo has executed eight transactions covering 35 projects in two years, mostly batteries, and manages more than 4 GWh of storage. Its Sheaf battery purchase in Kent was a 100 percent buy of a single site. Enel Libra Flexsys is a minority position in an entire national programme, and on Enerdatics' estimate of 6.8 GWh, a 49 percent share is equivalent to about 3.3 GWh, most of the storage capacity the manager now cites.
Enerdatics records 37 battery M&A transactions in Italy announced between January 2023 and September 2026, and only six carry a disclosed value. Four of those are development-stage asset deals that priced well below $0.15 million per MW: Renewable Power Capital paid $74 million for 1,100 MW from Altea Green Power, about $0.07 million per MW; ZE Energy paid $11.74 million for 98.5 MW at Sessa Aurunca, about $0.12 million per MW; Airengy and B7 Energy agreed $17.64 million for 509 MW, about $0.03 million per MW; and N2OFF paid $2.42 million for 70 percent of 196 MW, about $0.02 million per MW once grossed up. The sixth is Energy Dome's equity raise, a technology company rather than a portfolio. The Enel deal is the only priced Italian storage transaction in Leap involving assets under construction with contracted revenue.
What does the deal signal for Italian battery storage?
It signals a two-tier market. At one end, developers sell early-stage Italian battery projects for small sums per MW, because permits and a capacity contract are still ahead of them. At the other end, a utility with capacity contracts already in hand can sell a minority stake for more than $1 billion and keep control. The gap between those tiers is the value the capacity auction creates.
It also signals how utilities are recycling capital. Enel reduces net debt by about $1.19 billion while keeping the assets on its own operating platform, the same partnership logic the record attributes to its strategic plan. Enel used a different route in Chile, where it sold operating solar plants outright to Sonnedix. Selling minority stakes in strategic assets lets it fund growth without giving up the fleet.
For buyers, the lesson is in the arithmetic. Leap's own deal flow is dominated by undisclosed development transactions, so the few priced deals carry a lot of weight. Comparing a 49 percent stake against 100 percent of nameplate halves the apparent price. Any benchmark built on Italian storage needs to gross up first.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Sosteneo pay for its stake in Enel Libra Flexsys? Sosteneo agreed an enterprise value of $1.32 billion for 49 percent of Enel Libra Flexsys, including an equity value of about $1.19 billion. The transaction completed on 26 June 2024.
What assets does Enel Libra Flexsys own? It owns 23 battery storage projects totalling 1.7 GW, mostly four-hour systems according to Enerdatics, and three open cycle gas turbine renovation projects totalling 900 MW, all awarded under Italy's Capacity Market 2024 auction held in 2022.
Who advised on the Enel and Sosteneo transaction? Mediobanca advised Enel. SURE, Credit Agricole CIB, BNP Paribas and Lazard advised Sosteneo, and Green Horse Legal Advisory was Sosteneo's legal adviser.
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