Fortum Settles Deal with Uniper Shareholders
Finnish energy firm Fortum said June 26 it had finally settled its voluntary Public Takeover Offer (PTO) for the outstanding shares of Germany's Uniper.
Fortum acquired altogether 172,439,375 shares, corresponding to 47.12% of Uniper share capital and voting rights (E.ON's stake in Uniper having been 46.65%, for which it was paid €3.76bn). The Finnish firm this February failed to wrest majority control of Uniper after a rancourous battle by the latter's executives; Russia later also imposed a bar on it securing more than 50% control of Uniper.
Fortum president/CEO Pekka Lundmark said June 26: “We are very pleased to have closed the transaction and to have become Uniper’s largest shareholder. The investment delivers on Fortum's vision and strategy as well as our investment criteria. Uniper’s businesses are well aligned with Fortum's core competencies, are close to our home markets and are highly cash generative. Now it is time to reset the relationship between Uniper and Fortum as its largest shareholder in the interest of both companies." Fortum said that shareholders who tendered their shares are receiving a payment of €21.31/share.
Uniper said that, in total, Fortum now holds about 47.35% of Uniper shares.
A conciliatory Uniper CEO Klaus Schafer said: "As expected, Uniper now has a new major shareholder in Fortum, whom we welcome among our shareholders. Following the conclusion of the public takeover offer, our aim is to continue the thread of discussion with Fortum and to protect the interests of Uniper, our employees and all shareholders in the best possible way. It is particularly important to me now to lay the foundation for a constructive cooperation between Fortum and Uniper while at the same time to ensure the implementation of the entrepreneurial path we have chosen. My colleagues on the board of management and I are convinced that this serves to create long-term value - for both companies.”
E.ON CEO Johannes Teyssen chipped in: “The sale of our remaining shares in Uniper to Fortum marks the end of a chapter in E.ON's history. We wish Uniper – and thus our former colleagues – every success for the future." E.ON continues to be engaged in a takeover and carve-up of RWE-controlled Innogy, under which some Innogy assets would be sold back to RWE - unless Innogy itself divests them first.