ENI, the Italian oil and gas company, has turned to external advisers on its latest acquisition, after relying solely on its in-house corporate finance team for a $1.1bn (€1.1bn) deal last week.

In a deal valued at $2.5bn, where ENI is set to buy the 56% of shares it does not already own in Italgas, the Italian gas group, the company called on Goldman Sachs and Banca IMI for advice.