The price for the share offering would fit with the expectations of both financial market analysts and politicians. The German government agreed earlier this week to a partial privatization of Deutsche Bahn. At the price reported by the FTD, floating 24.9 percent of the rail company would raise €5 billion to €6 billion.
But German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee on Tuesday said he expected the partial privatization could rake in up to €8 billion ($12.5 billion) for the government.
“That is clearly too high, that will poison everything,” a German banker told the paper.
The FTD reported that the final price for the Bahn stock would be finalized in early November.
Private investors will be able to invest in up to 24.9 percent of the rail unit involved in freight and passenger traffic, following the German cabinet’s approval of the partial privatization proposal on Wednesday. Deutsche Bahn’s 34,000 kilometre (21,127 miles) network of tracks, train stations and energy supplies will remain in public ownership.
However, the plan still must be backed by parliament before the summer break. It also needs approval from Germany’s 16 federal states, several of which fear the closure of stations and smaller lines as part of any overhaul.