Czech EPH loses bid for Uniper as Berlin wants to retain stake in strategic company

The EPH group, owned by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský, has failed in its bid to take over German state-owned energy company Uniper. Reuters and Bloomberg reported the news today, citing their sources. EPH did not advance to the second round of bidding.

KKR and RWE, which were bidding jointly, also failed to make the cut. Centrica, Equinor ASA and a consortium of investment firms Brookfield and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, on the other hand, advanced to the second round.

Interested parties submitted bids for Uniper in September. According to current information, Berlin wants to remain a minority shareholder because of the company’s strategic importance. The sale of the entire company had also been considered initially.

Uniper faced an existential crisis in 2022 after Russian gas supplies to Germany were interrupted in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As a result, the company, the German government and its majority shareholder at the time, Finnish company Fortum, agreed in the autumn of that year to nationalise Uniper. The stabilisation package cost the German government 13.5 billion euros (currently CZK 340 billion).