Germany to nationalise gas importer Uniper

Germany is to nationalise struggling gas importer Uniper as it looks to shore up supply over the winter, it was announced on Wednesday.

Berlin has agreed to provide Uniper with an €8bn cash injection, in part by buying out Finnish utility Fortum’s holding at €1.70 per share. Fortum is 50.76% owned by the Finnish government.

State-owned German lender KfW will also provide financing to Uniper - "according to its liquidity needs" - in the interim.

Once the deal completes, Germany will own around 99% of the importer.

The Finnish company, once Europe’s bigger importer of Russian gas, has been rocked by the invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow cut gas supplies to Europe in response to sanctions, which forced Uniper to buy more expensive gas on the spot market. A €15bn state rescue package was announced in July, but the bailout was not enough to cover the firm’s growing losses.

German economy minister Robert Habeck told reporters: "The state will - that’s what we’re showing now - do everything possible to always keep the companies stable on the market."

Uniper said the deal would ensure its "long term stabilisation…in light of the further deteriorating situation in the energy markets".

Klaus-Dieter Maubach, chief executive, added: "Today’s agreement provides clarity on the ownership structure, allows us to continue our business and to fulfil our role as a system-critical energy supplier. This secures the energy supply for companies, municipal utilities and consumers."

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the deal "highlights the worries of politicians about the precariousness of the market. This will go some way to assuaging worries that steep rationing could be ahead for Germany’s industries, with a knock-on effect for the wider economy".

Germany already has a 30% stake in Uniper as a result of the July bailout.