Infrastructure investors are lining up to file non-binding offers for a minority stake in Dutch transmission grid owner TenneT’s German division, as the first round of the process officially kicks off.

Sources said that Macquarie and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) are among the investors preparing first round bids due to be filed in June.

Canada’s CPP Investments and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) are also said by sources to be eyeing the asset.

CPP Investments’ and CIP’s involvement in the TenneT sale follow the decision by the two firms to not submit an offer for RWE’s stake in Amprion, another large German grid operator that is up for sale.

Dutch pension fund APG though, which is bidding for a stake in Amprion in a consortium with Norges Bank Investment Management, is also considering filing an offer for TenneT, according to sources.

APG has previously invested in electricity networks, having acquired in 2021 a 16.8% stake in AusGrid, the largest electricity grid on Australia’s east coast.

Sources said that the upcoming submission of non-binding offers follows an initial stage of expressions of interest that took place shortly after TenneT’s financial advisors, ABN AMRO and Lazard, launched the process.

As part of the transaction, the incoming investor would snap an equity stake in TenneT’s German network via the issuance of new shares, with sources estimating the deal could be valued at several billions of euros. This is based on the company’s latest EBITDA of EUR 2.2bn in 2024, according to the company’s latest accounts.

Dutch state-owned TenneT owns and operates an extra-high voltage transmission grid network spanning over 14,000 kilometres, in several German regions, including Bavaria, Bremen, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North-Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein.

Via its subsidiary TenneT Offshore GmbH, the company also directly or indirectly builds and owns grid connections for German offshore wind parks.

Despite the ongoing sale, the Dutch government could still decide to pursue a partial initial public offering for the business, according to a letter sent to the parliament this week by Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen.

A final decision between a minority stake sale or an IPO is expected in early July, according to the letter and a TenneT spokesperson.

CIP and APG did not respond to requests for comment. Macquarie, GIP and CPP Investments declined to comment.