Germany agrees to bail out Uniper with a 15-billion-euro ($15.24 billion) rescue deal, as the embattled energy company becomes the first major casualty of Russia’s natural gas squeeze.
The bailout package will see the German state take a 30% equity stake in Uniper. The energy company was the first in Germany to sound the alarm over soaring energy bills and submitted a bailout application for government support earlier this month.
As Germany’s biggest importer of gas, it has been hit hard by vastly reduced flows from Russia which have sent prices soaring.
In a statement, Finnish majority-owner Fortum said Uniper and the German government had agreed on a “comprehensive stabilisation package” to provide it with financial relief.
“Uniper’s gas trading activities are critical for Germany’s energy supply and play an important role for the European energy sector,” the statement said.
“It is therefore of utmost importance to stabilise Uniper by immediately addressing the company’s loss-making and substantial liquidity needs, while at the same time initiating measures to de-risk its gas business model and secure a credit rating to support a path to longer term viability.”
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— CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report
This is a breaking news story and will be updated shortly.
