Germany Puts 99% Uniper Stake Up for Sale, Sets June Deadline for Bidders

Germany launched the formal sale of its 99.12% stake in Uniper on Tuesday, issuing a tender notice that gives potential buyers until 12:00 CET on June 12 to submit letters of intent to advisors JPMorgan Chase and UBS. Uniper shares jumped 11.4% on the announcement. The transaction would be one of Europe's largest energy deals this year. Uniper, valued at roughly €18 billion, supplies around 20% of Germany's gas and operates the country's biggest gas storage capacity, making any ownership change consequential for German supply security heading into winter. Berlin acquired its stake through a €13.5 billion bailout in September 2022 after Russia cut gas deliveries and Uniper faced collapse. Total rescue costs, including stabilization measures, reached approximately $53 billion. Under European Commission state aid terms approved in December 2022, Germany must reduce its holding to no more than 25% plus one share by end-2028. The government said Tuesday it would retain that blocking minority, with a finance ministry spokesperson saying the process would ensure "the long-term viability of the whole company, and thus Germany's security of supply, is safeguarded." The government is weighing both an outright sale and an IPO. Berlin aims to finalize a sale agreement by November 2026, though an IPO could push completion into 2027. Reported bidders include Norway's Equinor, Brookfield Asset Management, Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky's EPH and Abu Dhabi's Taqa. Berlin has made clear it wants a long-term owner willing to keep Uniper intact rather than break it up for parts. Uniper controls close to 25% of Germany's systemically relevant power capacity held in reserve, giving any buyer significant leverage in German power markets. CEO Michael Lewis said Tuesday the company was "more stable, more resilient and more clearly positioned strategically" than during the 2022 crisis. Uniper reinstated its dividend in March 2026, its first payout in four years, following a €40 billion net loss in the first nine months of 2022. A Stockholm tribunal awarded it more than €13 billion in damages from Gazprom in 2024, though recovery of that sum remains uncertain. Alongside the main sale, Uniper launched the divestiture of its 20% stake in the OPAL pipeline in January 2026. The pipeline's northern segment was already converted to support Germany's Hydrogen Core Network in December 2025, with the southern segment scheduled to follow by end-2030. Uniper also kicked off the sale of its helium business in January, with bids due January 28. The June 12 deadline will show which buyers are prepared to commit and whether Berlin can engineer a clean trade sale before winter demand season tightens the stakes on Uniper's storage operations.