The German government was negotiating for over a year to acquire the power grid operated in Germany from the Dutch state-owned company Tennet. The 22 billion euros deal was aimed at accelerating the energy transition, but Tennet has now pulled out. The Dutch intend to find other buyers for Tennet's German transmission grid.

Tennet will, in close cooperation with the Dutch government as sole shareholder, „explore alternative structural solutions“, the company stated on May 16. They will also make preparations for a potential investment in Tennet Germany by private investors, or a possible listing. Infrastructure investors or private equity firms such as KKR, Macquarie, or Brookfield could potentially make a move. The value of the transaction was estimated to be around 22 billion euros, with approximately 14 billion euros in debt and 8 billion euros in equity. Citigroup advised KfW, which was to acquire Tennet Germany on behalf of the state. ABN Amro and Deutsche Bank acted as advisors on the Dutch side.

The purchase could not be finalised before the elections in the Netherlands in October. The two parties have found it difficult to agree on a valuation. Recently, financing the huge deal has become more difficult, after the Federal Constitutional Court prohibited the German government from reallocating Covid emergency funds to a climate fund. The financing of the transaction was supposed to be done via KfW, using funds from the Covid-era Economic Stabilisation Fund. Through KfW, the federal government already has stakes in transmission system operators 50Hertz and TransnetBW.