Insider reports: Much more state money for Uniper

The federal government will probably give the struggling energy company Uniper significantly more money so that it can continue buying gas. According to insiders, the rescue is also nearing completion.

The measures to save the ailing energy company Uniper are becoming more concrete. The existing loans from the state KfW bank are to be increased from two to eight billion euros, according to a paper by the Bundestag Committee for Climate Protection and Energy. This is necessary in order to provide short-term liquidity for replacement gas purchases and to secure so-called margining positions. Margining are reserves that suppliers have to deposit for transactions on the energy exchanges. Uniper announced on Monday that the existing credit line of EUR 2 billion had been completely exhausted and therefore submitted an application for an increase.

According to the paper, the federal government is also planning to take a stake of up to 30 percent. This is to be achieved through a combination of a capital increase and further hybrid equity. The aim is to cover the accumulated losses at the Düsseldorf group.

Reuters had previously reported that Uniper should not lose its good credit rating, which would make raising new funds on the capital market more expensive. In addition to the federal government, Uniper’s majority shareholder Fortum and the Finnish state, which holds 51 percent in Fortum, are also involved in the talks.

The federal government could give more than five billion euros

According to a Bloomberg report, Germany is considering investing more than €5 billion in Uniper, with the total commitment likely to be less than €10 billion. The deliberations are also said to be ongoing, and the conditions could still change. The details are to be decided in a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Friday.

The FDP energy politician Michael Kruse told the dpa news agency: “For a possible entry of the state in gas suppliers, it must be ensured that losses are not exclusively left to the taxpayer.” According to insiders, the agreement has to be finalized by July 25. Because at that point in time, Uniper was threatened with even greater liquidity bottlenecks than before.

Uniper is suffering from gas deliveries from Russia, which were initially throttled and are now completely absent. In order to meet its obligations to its customers, the group has to buy natural gas at high prices on the market.

Costs may be passed on to customers

According to insiders, there is also talk of Uniper being able to pass on some of its increased costs to customers. According to Reuters, this is being discussed as part of the rescue package for the Düsseldorf group.

Among other things, Uniper supplies many municipal utilities with natural gas. The higher gas prices should therefore soon reach many end consumers.

Uniper share picks up sharply

In view of the reports, the Uniper share rose by 21 percent to 12.63 euros. Yesterday, the paper had already benefited greatly from speculation about an imminent resumption of gas supplies from Russia.