German renewables firm PNE says Morgan Stanley no longer pursuing stake sale

BERLIN (Reuters) – Morgan Stanley’s infrastructure investment arm informed the board of German renewables firm PNE AG that it is no longer pursuing talks with potential buyers of Photon’s PNE stake, PNE said in an adhoc statement on Friday.

Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) which acquired the PNE stake following a failed takeover attempt in 2020, was weighing a sale last October, Reuters reported at the time.

Photon, which is controlled by Morgan Stanley, is PNE’s largest shareholder. Morgan Stanley earlier this week disclosed that the stake was 44%, slightly larger than previously thought.

“Morgan Stanley Infrastructure and Photon Management GmbH have informed the Board of Management of PNE AG today that they are at this time no longer pursuing talks with potentially interested parties regarding an acquisition of the entire shareholding in PNE AG held by Photon Management GmbH,” PNE’s statement on Friday said.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)