Hamburg/Brussels – The German government is set to support energy group Uniper, Germany’s biggest gas importer, with a stabilisation package worth EUR 33 billion and take a majority stake in Uniper SE. On 19 December 2022, Uniper SE’s General Meeting adopted the required resolutions on the capital increase and the amendment to the articles of association. The European Commission approved this biggest-ever European state aid case on 20 December 2022. The other regulatory requirements had already been met.
The German government and Uniper SE signed a framework agreement on 19 December 2022 that set out the details of the stabilisation package. This agreement implements the rescue measures for Germany’s biggest gas importer announced on 21 September of this year. It forms the basis for state stabilisation of Uniper in the form of a EUR 8 billion capital injection and the creation of authorised capital amounting to a further EUR 25 billion. It thus sees the German government becoming the majority shareholder in Uniper SE. The German government’s investment also includes acquiring the entire shareholding of the previous majority shareholder, Fortum Oyj, which is therefore no longer a shareholder.
Uniper hit financial problems due to the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine and the resulting termination of gas deliveries, which caused a sharp increase in the price of natural gas on the expensive spot market.
As the new majority shareholder with around 99% of the voting rights, the German government has the necessary influence in the company to ensure security of supply in Germany. The government’s stake in Uniper SE will be acquired through an investment company held solely by the German government. The Federal Ministry of Finance will be responsible for the German government’s stake in Uniper.
The stabilisation measures were scrutinised by the European Commission in very detailed proceedings. It was the largest state aid case ever decided by the Commission. Together with the parallel proceedings relating to German energy company SEFE Securing Energy for Europe GmbH (formerly Gazprom Germania GmbH), this was also the Commission’s first recapitalisation case under the temporary crisis framework for state aid measures adopted in the wake of the Ukraine crisis. Approval was granted subject to wide-ranging conditions. These include the requirement that Uniper must divest various parts of the company and is subject to restrictions for a certain period of time, such as a ban on making acquisitions and awarding bonuses.
A CMS team headed by lead partners Dr Christian von Lenthe and Dr Henrik Drinkuth advised the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) on all relevant legal issues and on all aspects of the negotiations with Uniper and Fortum.
The state aid and merger control proceedings at the European Commission had special significance in this context because the European Commission examined and approved the nationalisation and stabilisation of the SEFE Group in parallel. The state aid advice was provided by a team from the CMS Brussels office headed by Dr Michael Bauer. Advice on merger control and foreign trade law was handled by teams led by Christoff Soltau and Dr Björn Herbers (merger control) and Dr Hermann Müller (foreign trade law).
CMS also advised the BMWK and the Federal Network Agency in the parallel case concerning support for and nationalisation of the SEFE Group.
CMS Germany
Dr Christian von Lenthe, Partner, Hamburg
Dr Henrik Drinkuth, Partner, Hamburg
Dr Frederike Volkmann, Counsel, Hamburg
Charlotte von der Heydt-von Kalckreuth, Senior Associate, Hamburg
Dr Hendrik Quast, Senior Associate, Hamburg
Paul Kintrup, Associate, Hamburg
Dr Carl-Friedrich Thoma, Associate, Hamburg, all Corporate
Dr Michael Bauer, Partner, Brussels
Roxana Mina Kruse, Senior Associate, Düsseldorf
Helmer Krane, Senior Associate, Brussels, all State Aid
Christoff Soltau, Partner, Hamburg
Dr Björn Herbers, Partner, Brussels
Moritz Pottek, Senior Associate, Brussels
Dr Robert Bodewig, Associate, Hamburg, all Merger Control and Competition
Dr Hermann Müller, Partner, Hamburg
Dr Ursula Steinkemper, Partner, Stuttgart
Jan Gröschel, Senior Associate, Hamburg
Dr Florian Kuhlmann, Senior Associate, Hamburg
Cihan Cömert, Senior Associate, Hamburg
Dr Arno Görlitz, Associate, Hamburg
Solveig Benker, Associate, Hamburg
Veronika Renczes, Associate, Stuttgart, all Public Law
Dr Alexandra Schluck-Amend, Partner, Stuttgart
Dr Michael C Frege, Partner, Leipzig
Dr Maximilian Hacker, Partner, Düsseldorf
Joachim Kühne, Partner, Frankfurt/Main
Dr Felix Fuchs, Counsel, Cologne
Josefine Wolff, Senior Associate, Stuttgart
Pit-Johannes Wagner, Associate, Stuttgart
Manuel Nann, Associate, Stuttgart
Christoph Simmat, Associate, Stuttgart, all Restructuring
Dr Tilmann Niedermaier, Partner, Munich, Dispute Resolution
Christian Reuter, Partner, Hamburg
Dorothée Janzen, Partner, Hamburg
Peter Endres, Partner, Munich
Dr Jenny Buchner, Principal Counsel, Hamburg
Dr Jan-Martin Kleindienst, Senior Associate, Hamburg
Laura Schrod, Associate, Munich, all Commercial
Moritz Gerstmayr, Counsel, Frankfurt/Main, Banking, Finance & Insurance
Dr Sebastian Cording, Partner, Hamburg
Max-Julian Wiedemann, Associate, Hamburg
Dr Lukas Hambel, Associate, Hamburg, all TMC
Dr Andreas Hofelich, Partner, Cologne, Employment
Press Contact
presse@cms-hs.com
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