German govt mulls possible majority stake in Uniper

The German government is discussing taking an even larger stake in the country's biggest gas importer Uniper, a subsidiary of Finnish energy company Fortum, the firm itself said on Wednesday, as it faced financial difficulties brought on by a drastic cut in Russian natural gas supplies, reported dpa.

Given "growing uncertainties," the parties are now examining, among other options, "a direct capital increase that would lead to a significant majority stake of the federal government in Uniper," the firm said.

A spokesperson for the Economy Ministry did not comment on the announcement, saying only that "we are in talks with Uniper ... and are not speculating."

Uniper's troubles became critical after Russia sharply reduced its relatively cheap gas supplies to Germany in connection with the war in Ukraine. This left Uniper having to fulfil long-term delivery contracts with more expensive gas from elsewhere.

Meanwhile, energy prices have increased exponentially across Europe.

In July, the German government, Uniper and its Finnish parent Fortum agreed on a rescue package worth billions of euros, which also included Berlin taking a 30% stake in Uniper.

Earlier on June 18 Uniper has drawn on its €2 billion credit facility from Germany's state-owned KfW bank.

Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen on 14 July visited Berlin and discussed the financial difficulties facing energy company Uniper with German Minister for Special Affairs and Head of the Chancellery Wolfgang Schmidt and State Secretary for Financial Market Policy and European Policy Jörg Kukies.

Earlier on July 8, Fortum's subsidiary Uniper seeks German government support.