Heidelberg sale unlikely before 2004 says RWE

News by

19 December 2002

RWE has reiterated that it still intends to sell its stake in Heidelberg, although not until market conditions improve.

The German utility company owns 50% plus one share of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, which is on RWE's list of planned divestments of non-core business.

A spokesman for RWE said the group's initial plan to sell Heidelberg by the end of 2003 was unlikely given current market trends, and that the timing of the sale was more fluid.

RWE's change of plan was announced at Heidelberg's AGM in September when RWE chief executive Dietmar Kuhnt, who is also chairman of Heidelberg's supervisory board, said that a sale by the end of next year was no longer a must.

In a statement RWE said that it expected group net debt to rise next year to 16.7bn (EUR26bn).

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