Sale of Up to 74.12% of Uniper Draws Bids From Consortia and Energy Companies
Key Facts
A consortium comprising RWE and KKR submitted a non-binding offer to buy Uniper as part of the German government's stake sale process, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. Neither company confirmed submitting the offer, with both declining to comment, while Equinor also declined to comment on its bid. Germany's finance ministry is considering selling up to 74.12% of the energy company to meet EU requirements obliging it to reduce the state's stake to a blocking minority by 2028. That makes the offer part of a broader process to reduce state ownership, rather than a final agreement to acquire the company. A Reuters report estimated that the sale could value Uniper at around 10 billion euros, providing an approximate scale for the potential deal.
The list of indicative bidders includes Czech energy company EPH, a consortium of Brookfield and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, as well as Equinor and the consortium comprising KKR and RWE. The number of parties points to competition between energy companies and financial investors for the stake on offer, but the bids remain indicative or non-binding, Reuters reported. Sources disclosed neither the value nor the terms of any bid, so the available information does not establish the bidders' ranking. Interested parties are expected to be notified in the coming weeks about whether they can advance to the next round of talks. This remains one stage in the sale process, with no buyer selected or deal completed.
The sale process is proceeding along two tracks, as the German government is also considering an initial public offering of Uniper. The company's unions favor a listing, fearing that a change in ownership could lead to the company's breakup. The alternative gives Berlin an option alongside selling a large stake to a buyer or consortium, while the private bidding process continues. The government currently owns 99.12% of Uniper and became its largest shareholder in December 2022, according to the company's shareholder structure page. Uniper has set a target for the government to own no more than 25% plus one share by the end of 2028, with other investors owning at least 75% minus one share.
State ownership dates back to Uniper's 2022 bailout, when the German government took over the company as part of a 13.5 billion euro rescue plan, according to Reuters. Uniper says the stabilization plan enabled the government to acquire a direct equity stake worth 13.5 billion euros, raising its ownership to 99.12% by the end of that year. Since the bailout, Berlin has received about 3.5 billion euros from the company, including repayments of state aid and distributions, according to a Reuters report. Uniper describes itself as an integrated European utility and a major supplier of electricity and gas, with flexible power plants, storage capacity and an asset optimization platform. This activity puts the company among the energy assets whose ownership the government is seeking to return to other investors, while the sale structure remains under consideration.
Uniper expects European electricity demand to rise from 3,419 terawatt-hours in 2024 to 4,560 terawatt-hours in 2035, according to its investor presentation issued in March 2026. The company presents these figures in the context of its European electricity business, while the available information does not specify their impact on the value of any purchase offer. In a company management development, its supervisory board reappointed Chief Executive Michael Lewis for a further five-year term, in an announcement issued on 15 October 2026. Across the German economy, gross domestic product rose 0.2% in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the previous quarter, adjusted for prices, seasonal effects and working days, according to Destatis. These are indicators of the company's activity and the surrounding economy; no direct link to the terms of the bids has been reported.
German central bank President Joachim Nagel is scheduled to deliver a speech in Berlin on 3 November 2026 titled "The courage for more Europe," according to the bank's official schedule. The speech announcement does not link it to the Uniper sale or the utilities sector. The next step in the sale process is to notify interested parties in the coming weeks whether they can advance to the next round of talks, according to Reuters. After that, the initial public offering option remains on the table alongside the private sale process. The government has announced neither a deadline for selecting a buyer nor a decision on which of the two tracks to pursue.