AMSTERDAM, June 20 (Reuters) - Dutch state-owned grid company TenneT on Thursday said it has ended talks on selling its German business to the German government and will now explore alternative funding options for the business.
The German state had asked the Netherlands in 2023 to sell the grid, Germany's largest, in a deal that would have valued it around 20-25 billion euros, as it was seen as crucial infrastructure for the country's transition to green energy.
But the sides failed to agree a deal amid Germany's budget crisis, leading Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in May to make a personal plea to German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz to make a bid.
"This announcement comes after the Federal Government of Germany informed the Dutch State that it cannot deliver on the planned transaction due to budgetary challenges," TenneT said in a statement.
Germany's Economy Ministry was not immediately available for comment.
TenneT has Europe's largest capital spending plan, as it is investing 160 billion euros in the coming decades in grid improvements, including building a network needed to support wind turbine parks in the North Sea. (Reporting by Toby Sterling, Rene Wagner, Benoit Overstraeten, Christoph Steitz; editing by Jason Neely)
