Germany Approves RWE Unit Sale to Fridman’s LetterOne

Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman’s LetterOne received the green light from the German government to buy RWE AG’s Dea unit.

The Economy Ministry said it does not see any risk for the country, dispelling fears of possible threats to national energy security. 

“We don’t expect any disruptions to energy security,” spokeswoman Tanja Alemany said on Wednesday, as reported in an article by Bloomberg confirmed by LetterOne. 

LetterOne, controlled by Fridman and partner German Khan, announced the deal with RWE for Dea back in March. The company is valued about 5.1 billion euros ($6.8 billion), which represents almost 50% of the funds gained from the sale of a stake in TBK-BP. 

On Wednesday, Germany followed Norway, which already approved Dea Norge’s NCS licence ownership back in June. 

Fridman already owns 30% of the licence in the Alta prospect, located in the Barents Sea. 

According to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum, the restrictive measures concern activities in Russia and are not relevant to activities in other regions.  

The sale of RWE Dea is conditional to the approval by authorities in other countries where the company holds assets.

Last week, the UK blocked the oligarch’s attempt to invest 5 billion euros ($6.35 billion) to acquire five gas fields in the North Sea.