TenneT to sell or list German assets
A sale of the assets for as much as €25 billion has been close to completion several times but encountered German budget difficulties.
Image for illustration purposes.
Netherlands, Arnhem: Dutch electricity grid operator TenneT will consider listing its German operations or selling them to a third party, as talks between The Hague and Berlin have so far failed to agree a sale to the German state. A sale of the assets for as much as €25 billion ($27 billion) has been close to completion several times but encountered German budget difficulties.
“Alas no deal has been reached and the negotiations are taking longer than I had hoped,” Dutch finance minister Steven van Weyenberg, personally involved in the talks, said in a letter to parliament.
He added Germany’s internal discussions over its 2025 budget should be finished around July 1 and “before that date there should be an agreement on a convincing and market-based sale price” for TenneT Germany. However, he said, given TenneT’s large capital needs and the chance that no deal may be reached, the company and the Dutch government consider it “prudent” to prepare other options.
TenneT is owned by the Dutch government and is the Netherlands’ sole grid operator and the largest grid operator in Germany. The company said it had explored the possibility of a full sale of its German operations to state bank KfW. Germany’s economy ministry took note of Tennet’s announcement, adding that Berlin was still in talks with the Dutch government over the purchase of TenneT Germany.
Berlin asked The Hague to sell TenneT Germany because it is considered crucial infrastructure for the country’s transition to green energy. While talks continue, TenneT will prepare for a potential investment in TenneT Germany from private investors or a potential listing to raise equity.
Source: Reuters