BERLIN, Nov 19 (Reuters) – The German government is still planning to buy the local division of Dutch grid operator TenneT, an economy ministry spokesperson told Reuters on Sunday.
The government’s plan hit a hurdle after a ruling by the country’s constitutional court on Wednesday that 60 billion euros ($65 billion) in unused COVID-19 pandemic funds cannot be re-used for climate projects.
As a result, it has become politically difficult for the government to propose spending more than 20 billion euros to buy TenneT’s German business at a time when bigger issues in the 2024 budget are up in the air, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.
The two countries have been working hard towards a sale of TenneT Germany, with an enterprise value of up to 25 billion euros ($26.3 billion), since February.
Reporting by Andreas Rinke, writing by Maria Martinez; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Jane Merriman
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.