Uniper SE’s labor representatives are ramping up the pressure on the German government to decide against an outright sale and instead list the utility on the stock market.
“We understand that there are again candidates expressing interest in a takeover of Uniper,” Harald Seegatz, head of Uniper’s workers council, told Bloomberg News in an emailed statement. “We consider any further takeover attempt a hostile act against the interests of employees and unions, which we will vehemently oppose.”
Uniper, once Germany’s largest importer of Russian gas, was nationalized at the height of Europe’s energy crisis after Moscow halted pipeline supplies. The former government began the process of paring its stake in the company last year, stating a sale via the capital market was its preferred option while also examining off-market alternatives. Under European Union law, the state must reduce its stake to no more than 25 percent plus one share by the end of 2028.
Seegatz added Germany’s government should have a strong interest in ruling out a hostile takeover against the explicit wishes of the employees from the outset. “We are firmly convinced that an IPO, with the federal government retaining a remaining 25 percent stake, is the right way to safeguard the interests of the Federal Republic, the employees and all other stakeholders.”
His remarks come after the workers council and influential trade unions Verdi and IGBCE last month sent a joint letter to several German ministers voicing opposition to a potential sale.
Uniper declined to comment on the statement.
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