Brookfield and Antin eye bids for Germany's Techem - sources

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP

19/10/2023 08:03

By Emma-Victoria Farr
       FRANKFURT, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Brookfield Infrastructure
Partners  BIP.N  and Antin Infrastructure Partners  ANTIN.PA 
are among several bidders vying for a stake in German metering
firm Techem, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters. 
    Private equity fund Partners Group  PGHN.S  wants to sell
its majority stake for as much as 9 billion euros ($9.50
billion), but offers may be closer to 7 billion euros, the
people said, speaking on condition of anonymity. 
    Management meetings for the dual track process, which could
include a sale or IPO, were held last week, they added. Sale
documentation will be circulated next month with the aim of
collecting bids by the end of the year, one of the people said.
    A decision on an alternative IPO track will be taken next
year once bids have been evaluated, this person added. European
companies are confronting IPO risks as macroeconomic conditions
worsen, with defence contractor Renk recently pulling its IPO.
    If the deal goes ahead as planned, it will be one of the
largest deals to take place in Germany in recent months. Carrier
Global Corp's  CARR.N  $13 billion acquisition of Viessmann
Climate Solutions took the top spot so far this year in Germany.
    KKR, Blackstone, GIP and Macquarie are also looking to bid
for Techem, Bloomberg reported last month. Some parties may form
consortia to meet the sizeable equity ticket, one of the sources
said.
    Partners, Techem, Brookfield, Antin, KKR, Blackstone,
Macquarie and GIP declined to comment.
    A consortium led by Swiss asset manager Partners Group
bought Techem from Macquarie  MQG.AX  in a deal worth 4.6
billion euros in May 2018. Other investors included Caisse de
dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and Ontario Teachers'
Pension Plan (OTPP) as well as Techem's management.
    Alongside energy management, Techem offers products and
services for carbon dioxide-reduction in apartments and
commercial real estate.
    Founded in 1952, the company has over 4,000 employees in 19
countries and services more than 12.5 million residences. 
    The company generated sales of 899.6 million euros in its
2021/2022 fiscal year, according to filings.
($1 = 0.9481 euros)

 (Reporting by Emma-Victoria Farr in Frankfurt, editing by
Anousha Sakoui and Lincoln Feast)
 ((emma-victoria.farr@thomsonreuters.com;))