Germany may sell Tennet stake after acquisition - report

The German government is exploring the option to sell a majority interest in the local unit of Dutch transmission system operator Tennet Holding BV soon after it buys it from the Dutch state, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

The government is seeking to sign at the end of June at the earliest a non-binding agreement to purchase the business. The unit could be valued at between EUR 25 billion (USD 26.9bn) and EUR 30 billion, Bloomberg said, citing people in the know.

After the purchase, Germany could offload 74.9% of the business, keeping a minority stake of 25.1%.

The potential steps are considered as the German grid requires investments that the current Dutch owner may not be willing to fund. At the same time, concerns within the German governing coalition regarding state ownership and a desire to control public finances lead to the idea of divesting a stake to private investors.

In parallel, German energy company EnBW, which is about 90% owned by the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, said on Friday it has agreed to sell a 24.95% stake in its transmission system operator (TSO) TransnetBW to a local consortium of banks and insurers.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.075)

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