The federal government is pushing ahead with the reprivatization of the Sefe gas company

Berlin. According to information from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the federal government is pushing ahead with the reprivatization of the nationalized gas company Sefe. “The federal government has started the application process for law firms and investment bankers,” said a government representative on Friday. According to insiders, the investment bank Lazard will accompany the process. Sales should therefore begin at the beginning of 2027. An IPO was described as unlikely.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the federal government rescued and nationalized the former Gazprom subsidiary with around six billion euros. The “Börsen-Zeitung” reported that the value of the Berlin-based company is now estimated at this same amount.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Economic Affairs did not want to comment on the expected price, but said: "The fact that there will be a reprivatization process is also clear from the framework that the Commission gave in the approval decisions. The federal government will take Germany's and Europe's security of supply into account in the reprivatization process." Sefe explained that, in principle, no information is provided about advisory mandates in the context of privatization.

According to “Börsen-Zeitung”, a two-pronged process is planned, which could either result in a sale or theoretically in an IPO. In this context, a capital increase should bring in up to two billion euros for the expansion of the infrastructure business. However, the interest of potential investors has so far been limited. Sefe's financial recovery is less advanced than its competitor Uniper, which is also currently being privatized.

Sefe stands for “Securing Energy for Europe” and is by far the largest gas importer in Germany. The import volume is about twice as large as that of Uniper. The company therefore plays a central role in ensuring security of supply. In 2025, Sefe achieved sales of around 15.5 billion euros with almost 2,200 employees.