The federal government can take over the troubled gas company.
(Photo: dpa)
Brussels, Dusseldorf According to a decision by the EU Commission, Germany can largely nationalize the crisis-ridden energy company Uniper. The Brussels authority announced on Friday that there were no competition law concerns about this step. The two parties are currently not active in the same markets. The existing Uniper shareholders are expected to approve the measures to save the company at an extraordinary general meeting on Monday.
The Commission’s decision is a so-called merger control approval. This means that the EU agrees in principle to the takeover by the German state – an important milestone for the company. However, an approval under state aid law is still pending. Insiders told the Handelsblatt that the commission had demanded that Uniper sell parts of its business in order to receive state aid.
The gas and coal-fired power plant that Uniper owns in the Netherlands was under discussion for sale. The Maasvlakte coal-fired power plant in particular is considered attractive and could be valued at up to one billion euros if sold, one of the insiders told the Handelsblatt a few days ago. At first glance, Uniper would get off lightly with such requirements. However, they would hit a part of the business that is currently still going well.
Uniper nationalization could cost over 30 billion euros
The rescue of Uniper could cost the state more than 30 billion euros. Among other things, the package provides for a capital increase of eight billion euros and, in this context, the acquisition of the Uniper shares from the Finnish state-controlled energy supplier Fortum. The German state is to pay a unit price of 1.70 euros for the shares. The federal government would then own around 98.5 percent of the shares in Uniper. At the end of November, Uniper also secured another capital injection from the federal government. Up to 25 billion euros can come in through the issue of new shares.
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Uniper is in trouble because of the Russian gas supply stop. The company has to buy the missing gas expensively on the gas market in order to fulfill its own supply contracts. The long-term guaranteed sales prices are often below the current purchase prices – Uniper writes losses in the millions every day.
The gas wholesaler, which is heavily dependent on Russia, is a supplier to more than 500 municipal utilities and large companies, and thus plays a central role in Germany’s natural gas supply. Uniper’s insolvency would probably have triggered a domino effect that would also have caused great difficulties for numerous Uniper customers.
On Friday, the EU Commission also approved the takeover of the energy group Sefe together with the Uniper takeover. This is the new name for the former Gazprom Germania – a Gazprom subsidiary that the state took under trusteeship a few months ago.
More: Unrest at Uniper: Gas company will probably have to sell power plants
