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The
state bail-out caps weeks of intense negotiations between
Germany and Finland, which controls Uniper's majority
shareholder Fortum. It provides a lifeline after falling Russian
gas supplies drained the company's finances.
Uniper shares initially rose 5% after the announcement, but by
1035 GMT were down 14%.
As part of the deal, the German government will take a 30% stake
in Uniper. Fortum will end up holding 56% in Uniper, down from
around 80% currently.
"We are living through an unprecedented energy crisis that
requires robust measures," Fortum CEO Markus Rauramo said,
adding the deal reflected the interests of all parties. "We were
driven by urgency and the need to protect Europe's security of
supply in a time of war."
Following the immediate rescue, Uniper, Fortum and the German
government will work on a long-term solution to reform the
company's wholesale gas contract architecture, which has exposed
the group to billions in losses.
The parties intend to agree on the longer-term solution by the
end of 2023, they said.
A drop in Russian gas supplies meant that, rather than being
able to rely on long-term price agreements, Uniper had to buy
expensive gas on the spot market to make up for the shortfall.
Friday's agreement will allow Uniper to pass on higher gas
prices, which have risen eight-fold as a result of Moscow
cutting supplies, to customers, but German Chancellor Olaf
Scholz said the government was looking at relief measures.
($1 = 0.9847 euros)
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz, Essi Lehto, Matthias Inverard,
Holger Hansen, Andreas Rinke, Markus Wacket; Editing by Maria
Sheahan, Kirsti Knolle and Barbara Lewis)
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