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News > Germany

Germany to Avoid Gas Shortage by Bailing Out Finnish Company

  • Uniper company facilities.

    Uniper company facilities. | Photo: Twitter/ @GunterFehlinger

Published 22 July 2022
Opinion

Under the bailout deal, the German government will take a 30 percent stake in Uniper and will offer the firm up to 7.7 billion euros in financing.

On Friday, Uniper, its Finnish parent company Fortum, and the German government agreed to a bailout deal for the German gas importer that is hard hit by soaring prices and dwindling supplies.

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The three parties have adopted a "comprehensive stabilization package", a move to stabilize Uniper's financial situation and secure public access to energy in Europe, said Finland's Minister responsible for ownership steering Tytti Tuppurainen.

Uniper, Germany's biggest gas importer, has been hit hard by Russia's curtailment of gas exports and filed for support from the German government two weeks ago. Under the bailout deal, the German government will take a 30 percent stake in Uniper and will offer the firm up to 7.7 billion euros in financing. Under the terms of the package, the Finnish state retains its majority stake in Fortum and can develop it in the best possible way.

"According to our assessment, the outcome now reached, which was approved by Fortum's board after careful consideration and analysis, is the best possible compromise under these circumstances and within this timeframe," she said.

The agreement with the German government "stabilizes Uniper financially as a system-critical energy partner and preserves it as a single entity," Uniper CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach said.

Uniper's parent company Fortum, majority-owned by the Finnish state, said it was also satisfied with the agreement. 

"After intensive but constructive negotiations, we found a solution that in an acceptable way met the interest of all parties involved," Fortum's President and CEO Markus Rauramo, said, adding that new geopolitical realities have shaken the European energy system to the core, and this determines a new framework for European energy companies.

"Whilst we have now achieved immediate stabilization of Uniper, further efforts will be required to create a long-term sustainable basis for the gas business," he added.

Fortum is Uniper's largest shareholder with a 78 percent stake. After the deal, this will decrease to 56 percent. Uniper is of "paramount importance" to Germany's economy, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. With the agreed measures, Berlin had made a "substantial contribution to saving the company."

Further aid was approved by extending an existing credit line from 2 billion euros to 9 billion euros via the state-owned promotional bank KfW, according to the German government.

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