Berlin: Germany has agreed to nationalise Uniper by buying Fortum’s stake in the gas importer to secure operations and keep its business going, the three parties involved said on Wednesday.
The agreement comprises a capital increase of 8 billion euros ($7.94 billion) for an issue price of 1.70 euros per share excluding the shareholders’ subscription rights, Uniper said in a statement.
After completion of the capital increase, which will exclusively be signed by the German government, and the share buy, the government will hold around 99 per cent of Uniper, the economy ministry said.
Russia cutting back natural gas supplies and last month closing the Nord Stream 1 gas pipe have led Uniper, Germany’s largest gas importer, to financial dire straits, triggering a rescue package with Berlin which was agreed in July.
Fortum will be paid back a 4-billion-euro parent company loan and released from its 4-billion-euro parent guarantee which it had given to Uniper earlier this year, Fortum said.
