BERLIN/DUESSELDORF/FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Germany’s economy ministry, which oversees ownership of former Gazprom unit SEFE, is open to the idea of combining all or parts of the business with bailed out peer Uniper, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The deliberations around a partial tie-up come as Germany’s government – which owns both firms after rescuing them for a combined 19.8 billion euros ($23.4 billion) during Europe’s energy crisis – is pondering exit options.
While the economy ministry is in favour of a tie-up scenario, Germany’s finance ministry, where Berlin’s 99.12% in Uniper lies, is more sceptical, one of the people said.
A decision on the matter could be taken within the next few weeks, the second person said.
The EU has asked Berlin to cut its ownership in both entities to a maximum of 25% plus one share by 2028, with separate listings and divestments among the potential options.
One idea under discussion is the creation of a German gas giant that could be formed by combining both companies’ gas procurement, trading and storage assets, two separate sources familiar with the matter said.
The finance ministry and Uniper declined to comment.
The economy ministry was not immediately available for comment.
SEFE operates 4,200 kilometres (2,610 miles), or 10%, of Germany’s gas network system, while Uniper is the country’s top gas importer. Both companies operate around a quarter of Germany’s gas storage capacity each and operate substantial commodity trading desks.
SEFE said it had mandated advisors for the reprivatisation process, adding such appointments had been made independent of individual options.
SEFE and Uniper had to be nationalised in 2022 to ensure security of supply in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Manager Magazin earlier reported that the economy ministry was in favour of a potential Uniper-SEFE merger.
($1 = 0.8448 euros)
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Tom Kaeckenhoff, Emma-Victoria Farr, Christoph Steitz and Holger Hansen; Editing by Susan Fenton)
