German Energy Firm Techem's Sale to Tpg Falls Through

Techem's €6.7 Billion Sale to TPG Fails Over EU Antitrust Issues

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Techem's sale to U.S. financial investor TPG and sovereign wealth fund GIC has fallen through as the potential buyers withdrew registration of the deal with EU antitrust authorities on Wednesday, according to the EU Commission's website.

The TPG-led consortium announced last October that it was buying the heating and water metering services company for 6.7 billion euros ($7.6 billion) from Swiss investor Partners Group.

The European Commission had announced an in-depth review of the takeover, as TPG's concessions were not deemed sufficient, a person familiar with the matter said.

There were possible issues with the fact that TPG also owns Aareon, the former IT subsidiary of the Wiesbaden real estate financier Aareal Bank, the person added.

TPG was not immediately available for comment.

A Techem spokesperson told Reuters that the company noted TPG's withdrawal and was "in close communication with all parties involved to provide clarity on the next steps".

The company is well financed and has been growing at more than 10% per year since 2021, the spokesperson said.

Aareon offers apartment landlords software for managing real estate and rent payments. Techem also offers housing companies its services for billing and controlling energy consumption.

Techem was founded in 1952 and has around 4,000 employees.

The metering company offers more than reading consumption data for heating or water, with plans to become a partner for the real estate industry in reducing energy costs, CEO Matthias Hartmann told Reuters in October.

($1 = 0.8810 euros)

(Reporting by Alexander Huebner, writing by Emma-Victoria Farr; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)