(Bloomberg) -- Germany’s largest power producer RWE AG is starting a sale process for its minority stake in grid operator Amprion GmbH, according to people familiar with the matter.
RWE is reaching out to potential buyers to gauge interest for its 25.1% share, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. The stake is expected to be worth about €2 billion ($2.1 billion) and may attract infrastructure and pension funds, the people said.
Deliberations are ongoing and RWE’s plans for Amprion can still change, the people said. A spokesperson for RWE said the firm is actively reviewing various options and financing possibilities given the high capital requirements for network expansion, but declined to comment further.
Europe’s largest economy is under pressure to upgrade its transmission grid in order to transport renewable energy from the windy north to its industrial heartland in the south. The overhaul could cost around €300 billion, but the needs are acute as existing infrastructure ages and can’t keep up with the rapid expansion of renewables.
RWE has been exploring “various options” for its share in Amprion, which operates an extra-high-voltage network in Germany’s west, Chief Financial Officer Michael Müller said in August.
The German business of Tennet Holding BV, which operates the country’s biggest power-grid network, is also currently on sale, but the process is stalling after the German government broke apart last month. This summer, an attempt by Tennet’s Dutch parent company to sell its German grid to Berlin failed.
--With assistance from Eva Brendel.
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