AIn view of the difficulties of the gas supplier Uniper, nationalization is approaching. The federal government is considering increasing its stake to more than 50 percent, as the group announced in a mandatory stock exchange announcement. There are corresponding talks between the federal government, Uniper and the Finnish group Fortum, the previous majority owner of Uniper.
Uniper needs more government support after the Düsseldorf group had already drawn on an aid package and loans totaling 20 billion euros. “Due to the increased uncertainty in the operational environment, those involved are also examining alternative solutions, including a direct capital increase, which would lead to a significant majority stake by the federal government in Uniper,” the statement said. So far, however, no decisions have been made that go beyond what was agreed in the July stabilization package.
“Financial losses have increased significantly”
A surge in natural gas prices and Russian supply restrictions have caused Uniper to lose millions of dollars a day, prompting the government to step in with a bailout in July. So far, this has involved a direct stake of 30 percent. Since then, the European energy crisis has worsened because Russia is no longer supplying gas through Nord Stream 1 and gas and electricity prices have skyrocketed, Uniper explained. “As a result, Uniper’s financial losses have increased significantly since July due to higher gas procurement costs.”
CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach had previously pointed out that losses could reach the seven billion euro mark as early as September. The federal government had announced that it would then support the company with further aid measures. Uniper had previously applied for additional credit lines of EUR 4 billion from KfW. To date, Uniper has been majority owned by the Finnish utility Fortum, whose stake would fall from almost 80 to 56 percent as a result of the planned federal entry.
The workers’ side, in turn, supports nationalization of the gas company and expects the federal government to stay on board for a long time. “The takeover of Uniper by the German state must be long-term. It’s not like Lufthansa, where the economic difficulties could be overcome relatively quickly,” said Group Works Council Chairman Harald Seegatz of the FAZ: “Uniper plays a systemically important role in the restructuring of our energy supply, and this process will take many years.”
That is why the best solution is for the state to take matters into its own hands and get involved with as large a majority as possible. After the turmoil of the past few months, during which the group has slipped deeper and deeper into the crisis, the works council is now hoping for a decision as quickly as possible. “The impasse has to come to an end.” Uniper employs around 11,500 people in around 40 countries, around a third of them in Germany. “Uniper should be preserved as a whole even after the state accession. The broad international positioning contributes to the stabilization of our company and must not be given up without necessity,” demanded Seegatz. Among other things, the group is involved in nuclear power plants in Sweden and operates numerous coal and gas-fired power plants in several European countries.