BERLIN (Reuters) -A consortium of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and Dutch pension fund APG aims to submit a bid for a stake in power grid operator TenneT by mid-September, Handelsblatt reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Dutch government has said it will announce next month whether it will sell a minority stake in the German arm of the power grid operator or pursue a partial IPO.
If the negotiations end without a result, TenneT Germany is prepared to pursue listing plans and publish an “intention to float” within two days, according to the report in the German business newspaper.
The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, APG and TenneT declined to comment.
People familiar with the matter told Reuters in May that TenneT kicked off talks with investors about the sale of a minority stake in its German division in what could become one of the largest deals in Europe this year.
A sale of new shares in TenneT Germany could raise up to 12 billion euros ($13.93 billion), the sources said at the time, adding that the amount could be significantly lower depending on the size of the stake settled upon and the level of debt.
The German electricity grid needs large investments to keep up with the growth of renewable energy capacity and to help with the transition away from fossil fuels.
($1 = 0.8615 euros)
(Writing by Rachel More and Ludwig Burger; Additional reporting by BenoitVan Overstraeten, Geert De Clercq and Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Joe Bavier)
