German utility E.ON AG (EOAN.XE) said Wednesday it has agreed to sell a
stake in one of its regional energy providers to a consortium of
municipalities in a transaction worth around 900 million euros ($1.2
billion).
In a written statement, E.ON said it will sell a 43% stake in
its unit E.ON Thueringer Energie to a group of municipalities, known as
Kommunaler Energiezweckverband Thueringen, or KET.
It added that the purchase price includes around EUR400
million in shareholder loans to the regional utility, which will be
assumed by the buyer KET.
With the sale of the stake in Thueringer Energie, E.ON has
achieved more than EUR15 billion in asset disposals a year earlier than
planned.
E.ON late last year said, however, that it may divest further
business. The company Wednesday added that its remaining 10% in
Thueringer Energie may also be sold "shortly."
The company previously sold a string of assets--including a stake in Russia's natural gas giant Gazprom
OAO (GAZP.RS), its regulated U.S. business and its gas pipeline company
Open Grid Europe--as it aims to cut debt and refocus its business
following an accelerated nuclear exit in its home market Germany.
Thueringer Energie is based in the eastern German town of
Erfurt and supplies residential, commercial and industrial customers in
Thuringia and parts of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt with electricity,
natural gas and district heat.
The company also supplies over 25 municipal utilities with
electricity for their customers. Its subsidiary Thueringer Energienetze
operates a power grid of about 39,000 kilometers and a gas grid of over
6,000 kilometers in Thuringia.