Germany on Tuesday launched the privatization process of energy giant Uniper, which the government bailed out in 2022 in a multibillion transaction.<\/p>\n
Germany is considering a sale or an initial public offering for the 99% it holds in Uniper, the government said in an official note<\/a> in the Financial Times.<\/p>\n Potential bidders have until June 12 to submit a letter of intent, declaring their interest in a deal to JPMorgan Chase & Co. and UBS Group AG, which the government has picked as advisors to the transaction.<\/p>\n Norway’s energy major Equinor, Brookfield Asset Management, EPH of Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, and Abu Dhabi’s Taqa have reportedly expressed interest in recent months to acquire the German utility giant.<\/p>\n Set OilPrice.com as a preferred source in Google here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Uniper, one of the biggest energy companies in Germany, was close to collapsing in 2022 when the energy crisis and the lack of Russian natural gas supply led to massive losses.<\/p>\n Back then, the German government stepped in to nationalize<\/a> the company to avoid its collapse amid soaring gas prices, with the total bill for Uniper’s nationalization at about $53 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Federal Government took over 99% of the company in order to secure Germany’s energy supply. The bailout by the Federal Government goes alongside a ban on bonus and dividend payments at the company.<\/p>\n Under EU regulations on state aid, the European Commission approved the nationalization of Uniper on the condition<\/a> that Germany work out an exit strategy to reduce its stake to not more than 25% plus one share by the end of 2028 at the latest.<\/p>\n Last year, Germany’s government was said to be preferring a kind of new initial public offering or a “re-IPO” to sell a partial 25% stake via the equity market. An outright sale is now being considered, according to the government’s notice of the start of the privatization process.<\/p>\n By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com<\/a><\/p>\n