German utility RWE AG has agreed to sell a 19% stake in
regional energy supplier VSE AG to a consortium comprising the western
German state of Saarland and several municipal utilities, said the
Saarland governor's office Wednesday.
The agreed purchase price for the stake amounts to EUR85.9
million and includes interest for six months, a spokesman for the
governor's office said.
The sale of the VSE stake will decrease RWE's interest in the
regional energy supplier to 50% plus one share, the Saarland governor's
office said.
A spokesman for RWE Deutschland, the companies German energy
network and retail business, confirmed that an agreement has been
achieved, but declined to comment on details of the transaction.
The stake sale is a part of RWE's plan to divest up to EUR11
billion worth of assets by the end of 2013 to help repair its balance
sheet, after Germany's decision to exit all nuclear power production by
the end of 2022 hit the company's earnings and cash flow.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal Deutschland last
month, however, RWE Chief Executive Juergen Grossmann said the company
may sell fewer assets than previously planned, partially because some
parts of its power generation business have developed better than
anticipated.
People familiar with the matter have previously said that RWE
has also initiated the disposal of its Czech gas transmission pipeline
unit NET4GAS, parts of its oil and gas production business RWE Dea as
well as stakes in other German regional energy suppliers.