Clifford Chance Advises AEBG on Sale of indirect Stake in Transmission System Operator Amprion
5 May 2025
- Moritz Petersen, Natalie Hemberger, Gregor Evenkamp, Luis Freisler, Stefan Herr, Olaf Mertgen, Cord von Mandelsloh, Johannes Meyer, Christian Kremer, Philippe Sadler
- Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf, Luxembourg
Clifford Chance Advises AEBG on Sale of indirect Stake in Transmission System Operator Amprion
Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised Ärztliche Beteiligungsgesellschaft S.A. ("AEBG") on the sale of approximately six percent of Düsseldorf-based M 31 Beteiligungsgesellschaft to Commerz Real's infrastructure fund Klimavest. The real asset subsidiary of Commerzbank thus acquires an indirect stake of about 4.5 percent in the transmission system operator Amprion. The purchase price remains confidential.
Even after the sale of the stake, AEBG, which is backed by a consortium of five pension funds led by Ärzteversorgung Westfalen-Lippe, remains the largest shareholder of M 31.
Klimavest aims to invest in the long-term expansion and modernisation of power grids in Germany with this stake, thereby expanding its existing portfolio of wind and solar parks to include the asset class of grid infrastructure.
Amprion operates the second-longest electricity transmission network in Germany, spanning approximately 11,000 kilometres in the west and southwest of the country. The Dortmund-based company is constructing direct connections to offshore wind farms in the North Sea and is linked with power grids in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Austria, and Switzerland, thus playing a central role in the success of the energy transition in Germany and Europe. Besides M 31, RWE holds a 25.1 per cent stake in Amprion.
The Clifford Chance team for AEBG was led by partner Moritz Petersen and comprised senior associate Natalie Hemberger (both Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), partner Gregor Evenkamp and associate Luis Freisler (both Global Financial Markets, Munich), partners Stefan Herr and Olaf Mertgen, counsel Cord von Mandelsloh and associate Johannes Meyer (all Tax/Funds, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf) as well as senior partner Christian Kremer, senior associate Philippe Sadler and trainee lawyer Maxime Majerus (all Corporate/M&A) from the firm's Luxembourg office.