To ensure a reliable supply of electricity in Germany, the German government, Uniper, and Fortum have signed an agreement in principle that would give the government full control of Uniper.
After the deal closes, Fortum will be able to dispose Uniper and return its attention to its main business, which is the generation of clean electricity in the Nordic countries. It supersedes the original Uniper stabilization agreement, which the same parties signed in July 2022.
Uniper has lost about EUR 8.5 billion on gas alone, and it can’t keep operating as a privately held corporation while still meeting its key supply-security obligations. As a result, the German government will have to oversee the new approach.
Uniper will issue 4.7 billion new ordinary registered shares at a nominal value of EUR 1.70 per share, and the German government will subscribe for these shares under the terms of the agreement. Until this EUR 8 billion capital increase is finalized, the German state-owned KfW bank will provide Uniper with additional liquidity support.
After the capital increase is finalized, the German government intends to pay EUR 0.5 billion to acquire all 293 million shares of Uniper owned by Fortum.
Agreement finalization
The closing of the agreed-upon deal is contingent to the finalization of definitive agreements with the German State and Uniper, as well as regulatory approvals in a number of jurisdictions, including clearances from the European Commission’s Merger Control and State Aid departments. The approval of an Extraordinary General Meeting of Uniper is necessary to finalize the capital increase in Uniper by the German State. The closing of the negotiated deal is anticipated by the year’s end.
