Europe's largest energy deal: Germany launches sale process for Uniper

Germany may be preparing the biggest deal of the year in the energy sector of Europe: the government of the country has started privatization of the energy company Uniper, Bloomberg writes.

For Uniper, which was nationalized during the European energy crisis of 2022-2023 - after Russia significantly reduced gas supplies to the EU - the German government is now considering several development options. Among them are a sale to another company or a listing of Uniper shares on the stock exchange. A final decision on the scale, timing and structure of a potential deal has not yet been made, Bloomberg points out.

Reuters, citing a report published in the Financial Times of the German government indicates that potential buyers of Uniper should send a letter of intent to JPMorgan and UBS by mid-day on June 12. Bloomberg names Equinor, EPH of Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky and Brookfield Asset Management as potential suitors who have shown interest in the company. Earlier, consultants also considered merging Uniper with Securing Energy for Europe, another European energy company nationalized during the energy crisis.

Germany now owns 99.12% of Uniper.

Berlin started preparing for the return of Uniper to private ownership last year. At that time, the German government said it preferred to float Uniper's securities on the stock exchange, but was also considering alternatives.

After Russia cut gas supplies to the EU in 2022-2023, Uniper, which at the time was Germany's largest importer of fuel, faced huge losses. Against this background, Germany nationalized Uniper in December 2022.

Now, according to EU rules - by the end of 2028 - Germany must reduce its stake in Uniper to a maximum of 25% plus one share. A similar divestment process is also being prepared for Gazprom's former structure in Germany, now known as Sefe, Bloomberg notes.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor