Germany is looking for ways to sell Uniper

The German government is surveying its options to reduce its ownership of the energy company In Uniper. The news agency reports on the matter, among others Bloomberg and a Swedish newspaper Today’s industry.

The main option would be to reduce ownership through the stock exchange. The information is based on a statement from the German Ministry of Finance.

“The final decision on the timing and form of the possible sale has not been made,” the ministry commented in its statement.

The German state currently owns more than 99 percent of Uniper.

Previously, Uniper was known as the Finnish energy company Fortum’s as a subsidiary. In the fall of 2022, Fortum sold its entire Uniper holding to the German government, eventually clearing losses of around six billion euros from its Uniper adventure.

In 2022, the German government pumped 13.5 billion euros into Uniper to save Germany’s then-largest Russian gas importer from collapse. The rescue operation was one of the largest in German corporate history.

Business also in Sweden

Uniper ran into difficulties after Russia started a war of aggression in Ukraine in the spring of 2022. The price of energy rose drastically, as a result of which Uneper had to buy gas from the market at an expensive price at the same time that the company had contracted to sell it to its customers at a lower price.

In connection with the nationalization of Uniper, Germany committed, based on the agreement with the European Commission, to reduce its ownership in the company to a maximum of 25 percent plus one share by 2028.

According to its statement, Uniper said that it welcomes the Ministry of Finance’s announcement and said that it will work closely with the German government to promote all the necessary preparations for the trade arrangement.

The company did adjusted net result of 1.1 billion euros in January–June. The result clearly decreased from last year, when Uniper made a net result of almost 2.5 billion euros during the beginning of the year.

Uniper currently has water and nuclear power business in Sweden as well. When Fortum sold Uniper to the German government, a condition was added to the agreement according to which Fortum has the right of first refusal if Uniper decides to sell its water or nuclear power operations in Sweden in the future.