BERLIN -German gas importer Uniper is in trouble, and the German and Finnish governments are talking about it. On Monday, Uniper said it had taken out a $2.03 billion loan from Germany’s state-owned KfW bank.
Uniper said it took the step because of problems with Russia’s gas supply and how that affected the energy markets and exchanges.
The company said that how long the credit facility would last would depend on how the market changes. It also said that it was working closely with its banks and the German government to get the company’s finances back on track.
Germany’s biggest gas importer, Helsinki, asked Berlin for a bailout to deal with financial problems caused by a lack of gas and skyrocketing prices. This led to urgent talks between Berlin and Helsinki.
The Finnish utility Fortum, which is run by the government, owns 78 percent of Uniper.
A German Economy Ministry spokesperson said that a Finnish government minister’s trip to Berlin last week did not lead to a better idea of when Uniper’s financial problems would be solved.
($1 = 0.9859 euros)
