Germany Acquires Minority Stake in TenneT for $3.9B

(Credit: TenneT)

Germany has agreed to buy 25.1% of Dutch grid operator TenneT's German division for 3.3 billion euros ($3.9 billion), it said on Tuesday, in a long-planned move to tighten Berlin's control over critical energy infrastructure.

The deal marks a significant step in the German government's attempts to assert more influence over high-voltage grids, the backbone of the country's energy supply, which are in need of tens of billions of euros in investment to remain safe.

The Dutch government, meantime, is cutting its stake in TenneT Germany at a time when rising investment needs have raised doubts over whether large parts of Germany's power grids should be funded by its European neighbour.

The acquisition will take place via German state-backed lender KfW KFW.UL, which was advised by Citigroup C.N and already holds minority stakes in other German transmission operators TransnetBW EBKG.DE and 50Hertz ELI.BR.

Germany Secures Tennet Investments

"The federal government's investment in TenneT will help to secure the billions in capital that will be needed in the coming years," German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said.

"With this investment in the infrastructure of the future, we are strengthening Germany as a business location."

Through its stake, Berlin will have the right to appoint two of TenneT Germany's 10-member supervisory board and veto major strategic decisions, a person familiar with the matter said.

Berlin had in the past attempted to take a stake in TenneT Germany, the country's largest high-voltage transmission grid at a length of more than 14,000 km (8,699 miles), but previous efforts failed over budget issues.

The Dutch government agreed in September to sell 46% of TenneT Germany to a consortium of Dutch pension fund manager APG, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and Norges Bank NOCB.UL Investment Management for up to 9.5  billion euros.

Berlin said it would acquire its stake at the same valuation and expects the deal to get regulatory clearance in the third quarter.

TenneT Holding IPO-TTH.AS, which is the sole grid operator in the Netherlands, said it would keep the remaining 28.9% of the shares in its German division to remain involved in key decisions.

Germany has also allocated future funding obligations linked to capital increases planned between 2026 and 2029, underscoring the scale of investment still required.

($1 = 0.8469 euros)

(Reuters - Reporting by Bart Meijer and Christoph Steitz; Additional reporting by Holger Hansen; Editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan and Jan Harvey)