Goldman Sachs excluded from Dong Energy bidding process

Goldman Sachs has been excluded from the bidding process to handle the initial public offering of Danish state utility Dong Energy.

The Wall Street investment bank wasn’t invited so as “to avoid speculation about Goldman Sachs’s role,” the finance ministry said on Wednesday. Sebastian Howell, executive director for media relations, said Goldman is considering whether to comment .

Denmark, which holds 59 per cent of Dong, revealed its IPO road map for the utility in September.

The sale, which Sydbank has estimated may value Dong as high as 70 billion kroner ($10 billion), is set to be among the biggest in Denmark's history. Goldman holds almost one-fifth of Dong, which is also owned by Danish pension funds ATP and PFA, and a group of smaller shareholders.

A committee overseeing the IPO said on Wednesday it has selected JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Nordea as joint global coordinators.

Citigroup, Danske Bank and UBS were selected as joint bookrunners.

The committee has the option to hire more banks during the IPO process should it prove necessary, it said. Dong dominated media headlines in 2014, when a junior coalition member quit the previous government in protest after part of Dong was sold to Goldman Sachs.

The Wall Street firm paid about $1.5 billion for an 18 per cent stake. A number of MPs questioned the price, which they argued was too low. The government at the time said the cash injection Goldman delivered came at a crucial moment and under terms others weren’t ready to accept.

The Danish government continues to have a “very well- functioning” relationship with Goldman in its role as co-owner of Dong, the finance ministry said .

- Bloomberg