Elia closes purchase of EUR-989m stake in 50Hertz

Wind turbines in the Baltic Sea. Author: Håkan Dahlström. License: Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic

Belgian transmission system operator (TSO) Elia System Operator NV (EBR:ELI) has concluded the acquisition of an additional 20% stake in 50Hertz Transmission GmbH and now holds an 80% interest in the company.

Elia confirmed on Thursday that it has completed the transaction, paying about EUR 989 million (USD 1.2bn) for the additional stake in Eurogrid International SCRL, 50Hertz’s holding company. The sum is EUR 12.16 million than initially planned, it noted.

By exercising its pre-emption right to buy this additional stake, Elia blocked an attempt by State Grid Corporation of China to acquire the same 20% interest from Australian infrastructure fund IFM Investors Pty Ltd. The latter continues to hold 20% in Eurogrid and Elia has a pre-emption right on that stake as well.

The buyer said that this transaction allows the further strengthening of the cooperation between Elia and 50Hertz. It stressed that the move will not affect the tariffs for the end consumer.

50Hertz Transmission is a TSO active in the North and the East of Germany, one of four that operates in the country. The company is responsible for the transportation of the wind power generated by plants in the German Baltic Sea to the onshore power grid.

As at the end of 2017, there were 172 wind turbines in the Baltic Sea, with a combined capacity of 692.3 MW, feeding electricity into the German grid, according to statistics by Deutsche WindGuard GmbH.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.209)

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