Germany in final stage of bailout deal for Russia-hit Uniper - Bloomberg
The German government is in the final stage of a deal to bail out Uniper SE to prevent the collapse of a linchpin in the country’s energy network in the wake of Russia’s moves to slash gas supplies, according to Bloomberg.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s administration will get a stake of between 25% and 30% in a capital increase, with a nominal price of 1.70 euros a share, according to people familiar with the situation. Senior officials in the German government will discuss the package on Friday and an agreement could be announced later, they said.
The package includes equity-like hybrid securities about 8 billion euros ($8.2 billion) as well as a larger credit line from state-owned lender KfW, said the people, who requested not to be identified because the talks are private.
Uniper became the first major corporate casualty of Europe’s unfolding gas crisis when it asked the government for a bailout earlier this month. Germany’s biggest buyer of Russian gas was pushed to the brink as President Vladimir Putin squeezed supplies in retaliation over sanctions against Russia.
The Dusseldorf-based company -- setup in 2016 from the former fossil-fuel assets of E.ON SE -- emerged as the weakest link in the energy system that powers Europe’s largest economy. Its extensive contracts with state-owned Gazprom PJSC made the German utility vulnerable to supply cuts and forced it to cover the shortage at high prices on the spot market.
