Fortum's attempt to take over Uniper may fail - report (translated)
23 SEP 2017
The Finnish energy group Fortum's [HEL: FORTUM] attempt to take over Germany's Uniper [ETR: UN01] may fail, according to Arvopaperi.
The Finnish-language piece cited analyst Karri Rinta who has advised his clients to sell Fortum's shares. Rinta said that he estimated the deal would crash and that there were risks weighing in.
The analyst emphasized that the Uniper deal process may cause Fortum's extra cash reserves to deplete. As a result, Fortum would not have Uniper in control nor would it be able to keep its current dividend level.
In addition, the synergies on the deal were not great as Uniper's coal power and massive gas sales would be a poor addition to Fortum's clean energy portfolio, he added.
The deal is far from finished, as Fortum has taken a hostile approach and many parties such as the Finnish state, the competition authorities and the credit rating agencies, may not approve of it, he said.