Media: Uniper has not yet found a buyer for its Russian division

BERLIN, Sep 29 – PRIME. German energy company Uniper was unable to find a potential buyer for its Russian division, Unipro, after putting it up for sale in March, Bloomberg reported, citing its sources.

And the chances of a deal are vanishingly slim amid Europe’s energy conflict with Russia, which escalated this week after a key gas pipeline was damaged in what Germany called an act of sabotage.

It is specified that Uniper, as one of the biggest victims of the energy crisis, must get rid of its Russian factories before nationalization. “Otherwise, the government risks becoming the owner of five coal and gas power plants, which provide about 5% of all energy needs of Russia,” the agency clarifies, adding that this is unacceptable for Berlin against the background of many European and American sanctions against Moscow against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine .

Thus, Germany risks being left with 2.2 billion euros of unsold Russian energy assets after Uniper SE is nationalized.

Earlier, the German government reached a preliminary agreement with Uniper and its main shareholder, Finnish Fortum, on the nationalization of the country’s largest gas importer. Uniper requested 9 billion euros from the German government back in July, citing a reduction in supplies from Gazprom.