The UK Government’s plans to raise £3bn from the sale of uranium enrichment group Urenco may have hit a stumbling block after it emerged that the Dutch government is understood to have raised concerns about the sale of its stake.
The Dutch and UK governments each own a third of Urenco, one of the world’s biggest uranium enrichment companies, while Germany’s top two utilities, RWE and E.ON, own the rest.
The whole company could fetch between €8bn and €12bn (£6.6bn and £10bn).
There are also concerns that the newly elected German government may also decide to reconsider the sale.
Sources close to the situation suggested that the Dutch foreign ministry is facing push-back from its parliament about protecting its national interests in a sale, which could be to a trade buyer or via an initial public offering.
Following the UK’s green light, the Dutch finance minister, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, gave the go-ahead in May for a potential deal.
RWE and E.ON have also indicated they are willing sellers since Germany’s decision to phase out nuclear power.
The UK Government’s flotation of the Royal Mail last month has encouraged the belief that an IPO route was available to Urenco.
Senior government sources had said they considered the uranium group to be next on the list of privatisations.
But it now looks unlikely there will be a decision before Christmas.
A spokesman for the Dutch ministry of finance said: “What is most important to the Dutch government is the public interest. It’s quite a complex process and we will continue to discuss the potential sale. There is not a timetable to inform parliament of our decision.”
The Dutch parliament has called a round-table meeting for December 5 to discuss the potential financial and economic structure of Urenco and will host the CEO of Urenco, Huub Rakhorst, as well as professors of economics and nuclear safety.
The Dutch government is particularly sensitive about the future of Urenco after the controversy over allowing Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani scientist, to leave the country with nuclear information.
A source close to the situation said the Dutch government was demanding the right to approve directors, to monitor the group’s uranium policy and the future sale of assets, as well as its financial health.
On Friday night the UK Government denied that there had been any change in the Dutch position.