RWE today signed an agreement for the sale of 100% of its shares in NET4GAS, s.r.o., the independent Gas Transmission Operator in the Czech Republic, to a consortium of Allianz and Borealis Infrastructure. Under the agreement, the consortium will acquire the shares for an enterprise value close to EUR 1.6 bn. This represents a normalised valuation multiple (Enterprise Value/EBITDA) of c. 9x. The closing of the transaction is expected to occur in the second half of 2013.

NET4GAS, s.r.o. holds the exclusive licence for the operation of more than 3,600 kilometres of pipelines in the Czech Republic and is responsible for the national transmission of natural gas as well as international gas transit.

“With the sale to Allianz and Borealis Infrastructure we have succeeded to find a very reliable long term investor for NET4GAS. We are convinced that the consortium is ideally positioned to further develop the company with due regard of the interests of all stakeholders,” says Peter Terium, Chief Executive Officer of RWE AG. “The sale of NET4GAS is a further milestone in our divestment programme to reinforce our capital base and our financial strength.”