Germany Eyes €4 Billion Buyout of RWE and E.ON’s Urenco Stake

Germany's government is considering a €4 billion buyout of RWE and E.ON's one-third stake in uranium enrichment company Urenco, according to German newspapers. The move comes at the request of Britain, which aims to keep the stake in European hands as it prepares to use Urenco to produce fuel for its military reactors, including those powering its nuclear submarines.

The finance and economy ministries have not confirmed the purpose of this allocation in the 2027 draft budget. Handelsblatt, citing government sources, suggests that London's request was made to prevent the stake from falling into the wrong hands, and that Urenco will play a vital role in modernizing Britain's nuclear deterrent.

Urenco is jointly owned by Britain, the Netherlands, and a company owned by E.ON and RWE, with Gronau in Germany as its sole uranium enrichment plant. This plant was exempted from Germany's nuclear phase-out due to an indefinite operating permit. While Gronau's role is primarily civilian, Urenco's growing military involvement has raised concerns among the utilities.

The government has been informed of Britain's plans to utilize Urenco for defense purposes, which aligns with the original Treaty of Almelo that established the company and restricted its activities to civilian work. RWE has expressed interest in selling its minority stake, while E.ON's CEO, Leonhard Birnbaum, stated that a sale would require government approval.

The stake has been challenging to sell previously, with Russia's Rosatom and France's Areva showing interest in 2016, both of which were denied. Berlin and both companies have not commented on the matter. E.ON shares increased by 1.5% on Friday, and RWE rose by 0.3% among the DAX's top gainers.