Germany Nationalizes Gas Giant in Step to Avert Energy Collapse
- Talks to take control of two other gas importers are under way
- Germany is paying the price for deep reliance on Russia
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Germany will nationalize Uniper SE in a historic move to rescue the country’s largest gas importer and avert a collapse of the energy sector in Europe’s biggest economy.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s administration will control about 99% of the Dusseldorf-based utility after injecting 8 billion euros ($8 billion) into the company and buying the majority stake held by Finnish utility Fortum Oyj. The final package will likely run into the tens of billions of euros, including credit lines to keep the company operating with energy markets still in turmoil.