Germany to inject 8 billion euros in Uniper

The German government will inject around eight billion euros in Uniper, raising its stake in the ailing energy company to 98.5 per cent.

The agreement will replace the stabilisation package that was thrashed out in July.

Markus Rauramo, CEO of Fortum, viewed the divestment as the right decision in the current circumstances and the severity of the problems of Uniper in a press release. The European energy crisis has escalated, making it clear that further measures are needed to prevent the collapse of what is the largest gas importer in Germany.

Uniper has accumulated close to 8.5 billion euros in losses from its gas business.

Since Russia attacked Ukraine, the role of gas in Europe has changed, and so has the outlook for a gas-heavy portfolio. Rauramo said that the business case for an integrated group is no longer viable.

In the past, we made decisions that were truly convinced of, based on the available information, market environment and outlook. Some of our strategic choices turned out to be liabilities in the end. He lamented that we had to face and mitigate the impact of those decisions.

Fortum and the German government agreed that it will have a right of first offer if it decides to divest all or parts of its hydro and nuclear power assets in Sweden by 2027.

The Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen SDP told Helsingin Sanomat that the divestment decision was unavoidable due to the unusually high uncertainty. The Finnish government has 51 per cent of the shares in Fortum.

She summarised that Fortum has to protect its financial position in a way that preserves its ability to engage in its basic business operations.