(Reuters) – Thyssenkrupp and Industrie De Nora on Friday set the price range for the initial public offering (IPO) of their joint venture Thyssenkrupp (ETR:TKAG) Nucera below the expected value.

Up to 30.3 million shares in Nucera will be offered to investors at a price between 19 euros ($20.76) and 21.50 euros, corresponding to a stock market value of between 2.4 and 2.7 billion euros, the hydrogen unit said.

People familiar with the matter had told Reuters earlier this week that Nucera was expected to be valued at more than 3 billion euros.

Nucera said the offer period is expected to run from June 26 to July 5, with the first day of trading scheduled for July 7.

Gross proceeds of the sale of new shares are expected to reach between 500 and 566 million euros, it said.

“We are on track and believe Thyssenkrupp Nucera is ready for the IPO with its attractive business model and technology for large-scale green hydrogen production,” said Nucera CEO Werner Ponikwar. The company plans to put the proceeds into its electrolysis business.

The fund subsidiary of BNP Paribas (OTC:BNPQY) and the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund PIF have committed to subscribe to Nucera shares as cornerstone investors, while Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn) are acting as joint global coordinators for the transaction, it added.

The IPO is the first in Germany since February, when shares in web hosting company IONOS debuted on the Frankfurt stock exchange, as turbulence on the stock markets and an uncertain economic outlook have unsettled many IPO candidates.

($1 = 0.9152 euros)