EU approves Germany's takeover of gas importer Uniper

The European Commission has approved the takeover of the energy companies Uniper and Sefe (formerly Gazprom Germania) by the German government, saying neither move contravenes EU antitrust law.

The energy giant Uniper — which had been Germany's largest importer of Russian gas — ran into financial difficulties after Russia cut off gas supplies to Germany, forcing the company to buy fuel elsewhere at much higher prices.

The European Commission said on Friday it had "concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns." State aid decisions and many mergers in member states of the European Union also require the green light from the Commission.

Germany's plan for Uniper

Uniper supplies gas to more than 100 German municipalities and several large companies and has expressed concerns that a power outage could jeopardize the economic viability of its customers. Uniper reported daily losses of up to €200 million ($212 million) from having to buy more expensive gas when prices were at their highest earlier this year.

In September, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck announced plans for the government to become the majority shareholder in Uniper, until now owned by Finnish company Fortum, to save it from a bankruptcy which could ultimately threaten Germany's entire gas supply.

It is estimated that the move will cost the government in Berlin more than €30 billion. Berlin is to buy all of Fortum's shares, making the German government the holder of 98.5% of Uniper shares. The takeover is expected to be approved by Uniper's current shareholders on Monday.

Germany also wants to increase Uniper's capital by injecting €8 billion and to raise another €25 billion by issuing more shares after the takeover. The European Commission can still announce conditions for the state aid at a later stage.

Gazprom's legacy in Germany

Gazprom Germania was a subsidiary of the Russian Gazprom Group. The federal government put the company under trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency in April.

The name of the company was then changed to Securing Energy for Europe (Sefe). In November, the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action announced the nationalization in order to prevent the imminent insolvency of Sefe.

In the future, the Ministry of Finance will be responsible for Uniper and the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action for Sefe.

dh/msh (AFP, dpa, Reuters)