In This Article:
* Government to take 30% stake in Uniper
* Uniper risked collapse due to dwindling supplies, high prices
* Uniper can pass higher gas costs to consumers
* Uniper shares plunge to record low
* Scholz promises help to households to offset rising energy bills
* Compares rescue to Draghi's "whatever it takes" moment (Adds Uniper comment on Gazprom, details)
By Christoph Steitz, Essi Lehto and Holger Hansen
FRANKFURT/HELSINKI/BERLIN, July 22 (Reuters) - The German government stepped in to rescue Uniper with a 15 billion euro ($15.28 billion) bailout on Friday after the gas importer became the biggest casualty of Europe's energy standoff with Russia so far.
Under a bailout that is among the biggest in German corporate history, the government will take a 30% stake in Uniper, reducing the ownership of its Finnish parent Fortum to 56% from nearly 80% after weeks of tough negotiations.
It will also allow Uniper to start passing on some of the costs of soaring gas prices to consumers in the coming months, which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said would be offset by more welfare support to shield poorer households.
The bailout underscored how Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February has major implications for governments across Europe as they grapple with soaring energy costs and fears of acute gas shortages over the peak demand winter months.
Uniper shares plunged more than 30% to record lows following the announcement. Fortum shares were 3% lower.
"We are living through an unprecedented energy crisis that requires robust measures," Fortum CEO Markus Rauramo said, adding the deal reflected the interests of all parties. "We were driven by urgency and the need to protect Europe's security of supply in a time of war."
At a news conference, Scholz asked the country to pull together, invoking the popular song lyric "you'll never walk alone" in English, while announcing the Uniper bailout.
Under the agreement, Germany will buy 157 million new ordinary Uniper shares for 267 million euros and make available capital of up to 7.7 billion against issuance of mandatory convertible instruments.
In addition, state-lender KfW will raise an existing credit line by 7 billion euros to 9 billion in total.
Scholz, who broke off his holiday in southern Germany to finalise the bailout, said the government would eventually relinquish its stake.
CONDITIONS AND APPROVALS
The package needs approval from the European Commission, and requires confirmation of Uniper's investment grade rating by agency S&P. The deal also needs the backing of Uniper shareholders.