The warning signs multiply for Uniper. The German energy giant is in an extremely delicate financial situation, due to its particular dependence on Russian gas supplies.
Caught in the vice of rising prices, the group had to activate a credit line of 2,000 million euros granted by the national public bank, KfW.
Uniper, Germany’s largest gas importer and storage facility, received the line of credit in January, before the war in Ukraine, but had not yet used it.
As of now, the energy company, which was Russia’s Gazprom’s biggest customer, has been hit hard by the reduction since mid-June in Russian deliveries, and is in dire need of cash.
The power company must, to honor its contracts, source gas on the spot market where prices have soared. The group loses “tens of millions of euros” every day, its CEO, Klaus-Dieter Maubach, recently warned.
Worse yet, it recently had to tap into the country’s already incomplete and supposedly winterized gas reserves to manage power demand for the coming weeks.
next rescue
Uniper asked to be rescued by the public authorities, in particular through a state entry into the capital. A possible collapse of Uniper makes Germany fear a cascade of bankruptcies comparable to a “Lehman Brothers” of energy. Talks continue with authorities. The German media evoke an entry of the State up to 25% or even 30% of the capital.
But discussions are stalled between the German government and Uniper’s majority shareholder, Finn Fortum, which is 51% owned by the Finnish state.
Berlin would like the Scandinavian group to also participate in the rescue plan. Fortum calls for the group to be restructured, bundling the venture activities into a “supply company owned by the German government.”
A meeting between Finnish European Affairs Minister Tytti Tuppurainen and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck took place in Berlin on Thursday to resolve the situation.
A turnout in Berlin also shakes within the ruling coalition, especially among the Greens, while Fortum is active in nuclear power. German taxpayers’ money must not be “misused”, declared Green MP Anton Hofreiter. A decision is expected before the end of the month, according to the economy ministry.
Source: BFM TV
