German coal exit may slow Fortum plan for Uniper takeover – analysts
Bloomberg
The push to scrap the use of coal as a power generation fuel by Germany and other European countries could make Finnish energy company Fortum think twice before launching a bid for a full takeover of Uniper, one of the continent’s biggest burners of the fossil fuel, report William Wilkes and Lars Paulsson in an article for Bloomberg. “We believe that Fortum is likely to wait for more clarity on the German coal and lignite phase-out compensation,” JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Vincent Ayral writes in a research note.
Fortum already has a 49.99 percent stake in Uniper. Uniper CEO Klaus Schäfer and CFO Christopher Delbrück had announced they will step down in August 2019, ensuring a “fresh start to redefine the future partnership between the two companies,” says a press release. The comments seem to break a deadlock between the two groups ever since Fortum bought a 47 percent stake in Uniper from E.ON last year in a deal that included a full takeover bid and was seen as hostile by Uniper’s management, writes the news agency Reuters.
