FRANKFURT, Sept 13 (Askume) – EnBW (EBKG.DE) is in talks with its main shareholders for a possible capital increase of about 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) to enable the company to make bigger investments in Germany’s energy transition .
Any decision on a potential share issuance will be taken by the group’s shareholders at the annual general meeting based on proposals by the group’s management and supervisory boards, EnBW said in a statement on Friday.
Shares of EnBW, which has a free float of just 0.39%, rose 2.1% following the news.
EnBW, majority-owned by Germany’s Baden-Wuerttemberg state and local municipalities, said investments in energy projects could rise to around 50 billion euros by 2030, up from a previous estimate of 40 billion euros.
This also includes the construction of new wind and solar parks, hydrogen-fuelled power plants, grid expansion and electric vehicles, the group said.
“This has resulted in above-average capital requirements that cannot be met from operating income alone,” EnBW said. Management was considering financing options, “given that investment levels remain at historically high levels.”
EnBW said it is leveraging its access to capital markets, accessing debt markets supported by favourable credit ratings. EnBW has received Baa1 and A- long-term issuer ratings from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, respectively.
(1 USD = 0.9022 EUR)
