Star Metro - Germany starts sale of bailed-out energy firm Uniper

The firm was plunged into crisis when Russia slashed supplies of gas to Europe as tensions soared following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

It was just one example of how the conflict has rocked long-standing energy ties between Moscow and Berlin, with the controversial Baltic Sea gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 also scrapped.

Berlin bailed out Uniper -- which had relied on Russian gas imports -- in September 2022 to the tune of 13.5 billion euros ($15.7 billion), fearing its demise could send shock waves through Europe's biggest economy.

But to get EU approval for the cash injection, Berlin promised to eventually reduce its shareholding, and the finance ministry confirmed Tuesday that the sale had begun.

"The government is launching the official process to determine demand from potential buyers," a ministry spokeswoman told AFP.

Berlin plans to reduce its stake from a current level of over 99 percent to 25 percent and one share, the spokeswoman said.

This is permitted under the agreement with the EU and would give the government a "blocking minority", allowing it to maintain influence over key energy security decisions.

"The government will ensure that the company as a whole remains viable for the future and that Germany's security of supply is safeguarded," the spokeswoman said.

Uniper, based in Duesseldorf, welcomed the news, saying it was "now more stable, more resilient, and more clearly positioned strategically".

- Key gas importer -

The company, currently valued at around 18 billion euros, was Germany's biggest gas importer when it was nationalised, and is a key supplier to industrial companies and local authorities.

It is not clear whether it will maintain the same value once a sale begins, but Berlin still stands to earn several billion euros from offloading its stake.

According to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, which first reported the start of the sale, the government is looking for long-term investors who will preserve the group as a single entity, such as pension funds.

The aim is to finalise the transactions by November, it said, and the government is also reportedly preparing to list some of the group's shares on the stock market.

The sudden loss of gas supplied by Russia's state-owned Gazprom forced Uniper to pay vastly higher prices on the open market to fulfil contracts.

In the first nine months of 2022, Uniper reported a net loss of 40 billion euros -- one of the biggest losses in German corporate history.

In 2024, a Stockholm-based tribunal awarded Uniper over 13 billion euros in damages from Gazprom over its failure to deliver agreed volumes of gas, though it was unclear whether Uniper would be able to get any of the money.

The group's finances have improved markedly in the past two years, and it has proposed resuming dividend payments to shareholders after a pause of several years.

As well as being a key importer of gas, Uniper also operates major storage facilities. It has around 7,200 employees.

F.Leblanc--SMC