Germany on Wednesday agreed to nationalize energy supplier Uniper SE in a move to secure domestic energy supplies.
Finnish energy group Fortum Oyj FORTUM
He said he had agreed to sell his stake in Uniper UN01.
For the German state, Germany underwrote an 8 billion euro ($7.98 billion) capital injection and bought a stake in Fortum for 500 million euros.
Uniper was until recently Germany’s biggest importer of Russian natural gas, but it has suffered heavy losses in recent months after Moscow cut off supplies and was forced to buy gas on the market when prices hit record highs.
In July, Germany pledged to take a 30% share of Uniper and extended credit lines as part of a guarantee package, but since then the European energy crisis has worsened and the severity of the situation means that previously agreed measures are insufficient and difficult to implement. , said Fortum.
To date, Uniper has accumulated gas-related losses of around 8.5 billion euros and will not be able to fulfill its role as a critical provider of security of supply as a private company, Fortum added.
Wednesday’s deal replaces a July deal in which Uniper will offer the German state 4.7 billion new shares at 1.70 euros each and state-owned bank KfW to finance Uniper’s liquidity needs.
Germany will then buy Fortum’s 293 million shares at Uniper for €1.70, which it has promised to finance the repayment of Fortum’s €4 billion shareholder loan to Uniper with Fortum, released from the €4 billion parent company.
Fortum held about 80% of Uniper at the time of its first bailout in July, with that stake wiped out to 56% after the deal.
As part of the deal, Fortum Uniper will have the right of first offer until the end of 2026 if it intends to transfer all or part of its Swedish hydro and nuclear assets.
Uniper CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach said: “Today’s agreement provides clarity on the ownership structure, allowing us to continue our business and fulfill our role as a system-critical energy supplier.”
“The revision of the stabilization package announced in July was necessary following the worsening of the energy crisis.”
Completion of the agreed transaction is expected later this year.
Upon completion of the capital injection and share purchase, the German state will own around 98.5% of Uniper.
Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com