Germany said to tap Citi, Deutsche Bank, UBS for Uniper selldown
More banks could be added to the lineup ahead of the share sale in the first quarter of next year
GERMANY’S government has selected banks to arrange a potential selldown of power company Uniper, which could rank among the country’s biggest share sales in recent years, according to people familiar with the matter.
Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and UBS Group have been appointed as joint global coordinators on the potential offering, the people said, declining to be identified because the information is private. More banks could be added to the lineup ahead of the share sale in the first quarter of next year, the people said.
The German state owns more than 99 per cent of Uniper after bailing out the company, the country’s biggest buyer of Russian gas, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The remaining fraction still trades on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, where the company has a market value of US$22.5 billion. Any stake sale could come with a significant discount given the lack of liquidity, while it’s too early to tell how big the discount is, the people said.
Deliberations are ongoing and details including the timeline could still change, the people said. Representatives for the banks declined to comment, while representatives for the government and Uniper didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The European Commission required Germany to reduce its stake in Uniper to not more than 25 per cent plus one share by the end of 2028 when it approved the bailout.
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UBS was appointed alongside consultancy firm Roland Berger to advise the government on options to cut its stake in the Frankfurt-listed company, Bloomberg News reported earlier this year.
With a limited free float, market participants consider a share sale in Uniper to essentially be a fresh initial public offering, or “re-IPO.”
Before a share offering, Uniper is trying to sell some assets including coal procurement contracts that could weigh on its valuation because investors tend to stay away from fossil fuel-related activities, people familiar with the matter have said.
The company last month said it intends to sell its coal-fired power plan Datteln 4 in North Rhine-Westphalia, and it also permanently shut down its hard coal power plant Heyden 4 Petershagen near Minden. BLOOMBERG
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