Czech tycoon Daniel Kretinsky and Spanish infrastructure investor Asterion Industrial Partners are the last remaining bidders for German utility Steag, according to people familiar with the matter.
(Bloomberg) — Czech tycoon Daniel Kretinsky and Spanish infrastructure investor Asterion Industrial Partners are the last remaining bidders for German utility Steag, according to people familiar with the matter.
Kretinsky’s energy holding company EPH is competing with Asterion to win over the eight west German municipalities that own Steag, the people said. Steag’s shareholders aim to sign a deal with a winning bidder next month, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
Private equity firms KKR & Co. and EQT AB, which had earlier expressed interest in Steag, have dropped out in the mean time, some of the people said.
Steag’s power plants are located in energy-hungry North-Rhine Westphalia. EPH has drawn up a plan transforming Steag into a large renewables player, a step that requires massive investment, some of the people said.
The Kretinsky-owned company already controls Leag, Germany’s fifth-largest utility, which is gradually replacing its lignite-fired power plants with renewable production.
Deliberations are ongoing, and there’s no certainty they will lead to a transaction, the people said. Steag could also decide against a sale if final offers aren’t high enough. Representatives for Asterion, EPH, EQT, KKR and Steag declined to comment.
Madrid-based Asterion was founded by a group of former KKR employees. Since its first fundraising in 2019, it’s made a range of investments in energy and telecommunications infrastructure in Europe.
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