Fortum’s plan to acquire Uniper, an energy facility operator based in Düsseldorf, Germany, has raised concerns among both Uniper and Finnish policy makers.
Uniper, an energy facility operator based in Düsseldorf, Germany, has continued its public attack on Fortum.
Christopher Delbrück, the chief financial officer at Uniper, on Tuesday stated that the energy company is not prepared to compromise its balance sheet and shoulder the costs arising from the mooted takeover by the Finnish state-owned energy utility, reports Kauppalehti.
“The costs and balance sheet are exactly the kind of issues that have been discussed by the management of Uniper following the takeover bid by Fortum,” states Delbrück.
“Uniper has reported solid results, and that same stability applies to our business operations. Also our healthy balance sheet shows that Uniper is best-equipped to succeed as an independent company.”
Delbrück says he is concerned that the proposed share purchase will hurt the status and share value of Uniper. His comments can be interpreted as a response to speculation that Fortum is planning on splitting Uniper and divesting any assets deemed not to be key for its strategy, such as Uniper’s the coal-fuelled power plants, after completing the takeover.
Fortum is believed to be mainly interested in the hydro- and nuclear power assets of Uniper.
“Uniper would have to take steps back in its current operations under the ownership of Fortum,” views Delbrück.
Uniper was established to take control of the fossil fuel assets of Eon on 1 January, 2016. Also Finnish policy makers have criticised the takeover bid as it seems to contradict the efforts of Fortum to establish itself as a forerunner in clean energy. Uniper’s stake in Nord Stream 2, a gas pipeline from Russia to Europe across the Baltic Sea, has similarly raised concerns in Finland.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT Photo: Linda Manner – Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi
