The German government will become the majority shareholder of Uniper, the largest energy provider and trader in the country, announced the former majority shareholder Fortum (Finland) this morning. Following the completion of a capital increase and the acquisition of the Uniper shares from Fortum, the German government will own around 98.5% of the shares in Uniper.
The German state will thus take over all Uniper shares previously held by the Finnish energy group Fortum, which had been just under 78% of Uniper. Nothing was disclosed about the possible purchase price. There are, however, hints that the takeover may cost the German government about €15 billion—coming on top of another €15 billion already placed for an emergency bailout of Uniper via takeover of a 30% stake in June. The German government is thus on the verge of the largest state bailout in the history of the Federal Republic.
