The German government may pump another €40 billion ($39 billion) in soon-to-be nationalized German gas importer Uniper to save it from collapse, according to a report from German newspaper Handelsblatt.
Uniper’s
UN01,
shares dropped as much as 5% to €3.62 on Thursday morning, paring back to €3.76 later in Frankfurt trading.
Last month, Berlin announced that it would bring Uniper, which imports around one third of Germany’s gas, into state ownership with a rescue deal worth €29 billion. The federal government agreed in September it would buy out Finnish-state energy group Fortum Oyj’s
FORTUM,
€500 million stake and underwrote a further €8 billion capital boost.
Uniper is the country’s largest importer of Russian gas and has since been embroiled in financial chaos since Russia cut gas flows to Germany. It burned all of its cash reserves, triggering its first government bailout agreed in July worth €15 billion – and a 30% government stake in Uniper.
In August, Uniper reported it was on the “brink of insolvency” after posting a €12.3 billion half-year loss. Executives said it had become a “pawn” in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Berlin is trying to avoid rationing gas supplies this coming winter, despite being one of the worst-hit countries in the shortfall of Russian gas deliveries. Like much of Europe, it has been increasing its reserves. As of Wednesday, the country has filled 96% of its gas storage facilities.