RWE increases its stake in Amprion to around 58 percent

Munich. The energy company RWE has increased its stake in Germany's second largest high-voltage network operator Amprion from 55 to around 58 percent. RWE acquired a further three percent of the shares in the investment company M 31, which holds almost three-quarters of Amprion. RWE also holds the majority in M31, the Essen-based company explained on Wednesday evening.

“The further expansion of the investment underlines the importance of Amprion for the RWE portfolio,” said the statement. However, RWE will only continue to account for Amprion proportionately; the company will continue to be considered an independent transmission system operator according to the statutory unbundling regulations.

RWE is benefiting from the fact that more and more Amprion investors would like to get out in view of the billions in investments in the expansion and modernization of the 11,000 kilometer long transmission network in the next few years. Only in July, RWE increased its stake in Amprion from 20 to 55 percent by taking over M31 shares. “The regulated network business will become RWE’s third pillar alongside investments in renewable and flexible generation,” CEO Markus Krebber said at the time.

The M31 consortium, which holds 74.9 percent of Amprion, long belonged to a large number of smaller investors, including the medical investment company AEBG, which is backed by five medical pension funds. Several insurers are also involved. It initially remained unclear from whom RWE bought the additional shares. The remaining 25.1 percent of Amprion is held by RWE Alkaios, a joint venture between RWE and the financial investor Apollo.