By Elisa Anzolin and Stephen Jewkes
MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's Industrie De Nora, which makes components to produce green hydrogen, has picked Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) to work on plans to list in Milan, two sources said on Tuesday.
The initial public offering (IPO), which is planned for next spring, could value the Italian company at more than 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion), one of the sources said.
Italian gas group Snam last year completed the acquisition of a 33% stake in De Nora, valuing it at around 1.2 billion euros including debt. Snam now holds 37%.
De Nora, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse declined comment.
The prospects for the green hydrogen market as a potential solution to reducing fossil fuel use and limit climate change had attracted investors looking for a company well-positioned in global clean energy, the sources said.
De Nora, which also operates in the water treatment sector, is a leading manufacturer of electrodes that are used in devices called electrolysers that generate carbon-free green hydrogen.
It also has 34% of an electrolyser joint venture with Germany's ThyssenKrupp which is involved in several large global hydrogen projects.
"That stake alone is worth more than 1 billion euros," the second source said.
As the energy transition gathers pace, Brussels is determined to give hydrogen a major role in helping to clean up economies and decarbonise areas hard to electrify, such as heavy transport and industry.
The electrode business accounts for 60% of De Nora's revenue which last year stood at 500 million euros. Core earnings, in a year marked by the COVID pandemic grew to 80.5 million euros.
($1 = 0.8655 euros)