By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- Uniper (ETR:UN01) said on Friday it has agreed terms of a multibillion bailout that will see the German federal government take a stake of around 30% in the energy supplier.
Berlin will inject 267 million euros ($272 million) in pure equity at a price of 1.70 euros a share, a discount of between 25% and 50% to its recent trading range.
The company will also issue up to 7.7 billion euros in mandatory convertible bonds, which will also be taken by the government. Fortum (HE:FORTUM), the Finnish energy concern that is Uniper's majority shareholder, will have the option to buy some of those convertible bonds from the government in due course.
The development is the second big government intervention this week in Europe's energy sector, after the French government announced it would buy out private shareholders of Electricite de France SA (EPA:EDF) to ensure that it can build the next generation of nuclear reactors and guarantee France's long-term energy supply. The issue of supply security has trumped all others since Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its subsequent cut in deliveries of natural gas to its European customers.