Uniper bail-out could be discussed with German chancellor on Friday -Handelsblatt
2022.07.20 08:42
FILE PHOTO: General view of Uniper’s Bierwang gas storage facility near the Bavarian town of Kraiburg am Inn, Germany, June 10, 2022. REUTERS/Andreas Gebert
BERLIN (Reuters) – Details of a Uniper bail-out could be discussed at a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday, daily Handelsblatt said on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the negotiations.
A rescue package for Uniper must be agreed by July 25, when the German utility could face more serious funding issues as a result of reduced gas supplies from Russia, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.
Uniper, Germany’s largest importer of Russian gas, is losing cash on a daily basis as it is forced to buy supplies at much higher prices from alternative sources because Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) has reduced deliveries.
Berlin is leaning towards taking an equity stake of 15% to 30% in Uniper as the preferred option for a bail out of the stricken group, the sources told Reuters, adding this package would be worth a mid single-digit billion euro amount.
According to Handelsblatt, the purchase of new ordinary shares at par as part of a capital increase as well as additional, equity-like hybrid securities are under discussion.
