BERLIN, March 25 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom has bought a 50% stake in A2A Beta S.p.A. from Italy's A2A Alfa S.r.l. to create a joint venture to sell gas on the Italian market, a Gazprom spokesman said on Wednesday.

The deal was struck by Gazprom's subsidiary, Gazprom Germania, which trades natural gas from Russia and Central Asia in Germany and Western Europe.

"Consequently we have put into practice previously reached agreements to establish a joint venture with the aim of selling natural gas on the Italian gas market," Gazprom Germania spokesman Burkhard Woelki said.

A2A Alfa S.r.l. is 70% controlled by a group of Italian companies, A2A, while the remaining 30% is held by Iride. Gazprom Germania is represented in the deal by its subsidiary ZMB GmbH.

The joint venture is expected to enable Gazprom to sell about 900 million cubic meters of gas on the Italian market annually.

A2A is a leading energy company in Italy, selling 6 billion cubic meters of gas annually. Iride Group sells about 2 billion cubic meters annually.