The federal government, the energy company Uniper and the previous Uniper majority owner Fortum have agreed on a far-reaching nationalization notified by Uniper. A corresponding stabilization package for Uniper was signed on Wednesday, as the company announced in Düsseldorf. It provides for a capital increase and the acquisition of Uniper’s shares from Fortum, Fortum and Uniper reported. The federal government will then own around 98.5 percent of the shares in Uniper.
The state-owned KfW-Bank will provide Uniper with funds according to its liquidity needs, Uniper further reported. This also includes the replacement of a credit line from Fortum, which consists of a shareholder loan of four billion euros and a so-called guarantee line of four billion euros. The stabilization measures are still subject to change. Approvals from the EU Commission are still pending. An extraordinary Uniper general meeting is to decide on the measures in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Fortum currently holds almost 78 percent of Uniper. Fortum itself is almost 51 percent owned by the Finnish state. In July, the federal government, Uniper and Fortum had already agreed on a rescue package worth billions. It had already provided for a minority participation by the federal government. On September 14, Uniper announced that the talks about the stabilization package were also examining a capital increase that would lead to a “significant majority stake” by the federal government in Uniper.
Uniper is in trouble because Russia is no longer pumping gas to Germany. The gas wholesaler is a supplier to over 100 municipal utilities and large companies and thus plays a central role in Germany’s natural gas supply. The company now has to buy the missing gas from Russia on the gas market at a high price. Most recently, Uniper spoke of daily losses of over 100 million euros.
In the past, the federal government has supported companies financially on several occasions, for example in the Corona crisis of the airline Lufthansa or the travel provider TUI. Under the pressure of the financial crisis, the state took a stake in Commerzbank in early 2009. Observers assume that the Uniper takeover by the federal government is the largest rescue operation for a single company in German history.
Federal government emphasizes the urgency of the Uniper rescue package
The federal government has emphasized the urgency of the planned nationalization of the energy company Uniper. The Ministry of Economics announced on Wednesday in Berlin that Uniper’s capital requirements had increased significantly due to the complete cessation of contractually agreed gas deliveries from Russia and the sharp rise in gas prices. “The resulting increase in replacement procurement costs has exacerbated the plight of Germany’s largest importer of Russian gas.” The stabilization package provides for the takeover of around 99 percent of Uniper shares by the federal government. Among other things, the federal government will take over all shares of the previous majority shareholder Fortum.
The acquisition of the shares can only take place after various regulatory requirements have been met and approval by Uniper’s general meeting, the ministry emphasized. In addition, the support package requires the approval of the European Commission under state aid law. “Uniper is a central pillar of Germany’s energy supply,” emphasized the ministry. “Through the majority takeover decided today, the federal government has gained the essential say and control rights in the company in order to be able to ensure security of supply in Germany.”
Fortum sells Uniper shares to Germany for 480 million euros
The federal government buys Uniper’s Finnish major shareholder Fortum its stake in the Düsseldorf-based energy supplier for a fraction of its original investment. The state is paying 480 million euros for Fortum’s shares, said Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck on Wednesday morning at a press conference in Berlin. The Finnish group loses a large part of its investment. According to Habeck, this amounted to 8 billion euros.
The federal government, Uniper and Fortum had previously agreed on the extensive nationalization of Uniper. A capital increase of EUR 8 billion is also planned. The federal government will then own around 98.5 percent of the shares in Uniper. Fortum currently holds almost 78 percent of Uniper. Fortum itself is almost 51 percent owned by the Finnish state.
Furthermore, the federal government wants to replace the credit line from Fortum. This consists of a shareholder loan of four billion euros and a so-called guarantee line of four billion euros. The funds needed for the nationalization should come from the state-owned KfW bank, said Habeck.
Further debate about gas surcharge
Meanwhile, the debate on the state gas surcharge continues.
The deputy chairman of the Union parliamentary group, Jens Spahn, welcomed the forthcoming nationalization on Tuesday – but there was a need for clarity about the costs and the role of the Finnish major shareholder. Spahn said on the Welt television channel: “We would like to see the billions that have been spent on Uniper in the meantime. And one thing is also pretty clear: the gas levy is no longer needed, if it’s a state-owned company, then it should be the state there, for example, can secure gas supplies with guarantees, but not burden the citizens additionally. The gas surcharge should be abolished. That is clear now at the latest.”
According to the energy and climate policy spokesman for the Union faction, Andreas Jung (CDU), the surcharge can no longer be maintained. “If your inventor even questions the legality, there’s no stopping him,” he told the “Rheinische Post” (Wednesday). “The gas surcharge has to go. The traffic light has to go back to go and the entire building of support and support in the energy crisis has to be rebuilt.”
In view of the possible nationalization of Uniper, Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) had previously expressed “doubts about financial constitutional law”, according to information from the German Press Agency. Habeck is also said to have indicated that the financing requirements for the gas suppliers are significantly higher than when the first rescue package for Uniper was negotiated. It is becoming increasingly clear that the unstable situation needs “the power and the guarantee of the state as well as all the financial strength of the state” that is necessary, it said. However, the Ministry of Finance is responsible for the final examination and responsibility for the financial constitutional law. The ARD capital office had previously reported on Habeck’s concerns.
On Tuesday evening, when asked by dpa, the Federal Ministry of Finance said: “There are no legal concerns. Economics Minister Habeck can introduce the gas levy he has proposed as planned.”
The economic policy spokesman for the Greens parliamentary group, Dieter Janecek, told the “Rheinische Post” (Wednesday): “Should the federal government be forced to strive for a majority stake in Uniper with additional billions in the short term, the majority of the gas buyers’ market will be in state ownership as a result Hand.” On the one hand, this creates additional stability in times of crisis. “At the same time, the Federal Ministry of Finance must now finally and quickly clarify whether a gas surcharge under these circumstances remains unobjectionable from a financial point of view. Alternatively, direct support from budget funds is still a viable option, which we as Greens have never ruled out.”
FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr called for quick clarification from the Minister of Economic Affairs. “Federal Minister of Economics Habeck brought the gas levy into play and I assume that he will soon clarify what consumers have to prepare for. Doing nothing is by no means an option,” he told the “Rheinische Post”. (Wednesday).
The Federal Association of Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW) is pushing for an end to the levy. It was “knitted with a hot needle and riddled with technical errors” right from the start, said BVMW national chairman Markus Jerger to the newspapers of the Funke media group (Wednesday). Many companies have only a lack of understanding for the statements on the gas levy from the Federal Ministry of Economics. The head of the association called on the federal government to do more to reduce the price of energy.
The gas surcharge is intended to support importers who get into difficulties because of the high purchase prices. The surcharge for all gas users is currently set at around 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour. According to the current status, the first advance payments should go to companies in November at the earliest. The levy is to be introduced on October 1st. Habeck tries to limit the circle of eligible companies so that only companies in need benefit.
Uniper is in trouble because Russia is no longer pumping gas to Germany. The gas wholesaler is a supplier to over 100 municipal utilities and large companies and thus plays a central role in Germany’s gas supply. The company now has to buy the missing gas expensively on the gas market.
Papers from the badly hit energy group Uniper temporarily lost 20.64 percent to 3.31 euros on XETRA on Wednesday. The price loss of the shares in the company, which was spun off from E.ON in 2016, totaled 90 percent this year by Tuesday evening.
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