Uniper says time for discussions with Fortum starts now (translated)
22 NOV 2017
Uniper [ETR:UN01], the German energy group, said the time for discussions over the company's sale to the Finnish Fortum [HEL:FORTUM], starts now, according to Kauppalehti.
The Finnish-language piece cited Uniper CEO Klaus Schäfer as speaking at the company's press event in Germany after it announced the board's recommendation to reject Fortum's EUR 22 per share offer. According to Schäfer, the time for discussions starts now, and the company will closely monitor Fortum's public promises regarding maintaining Uniper's independence as far as possible.
Schäfer admitted that it is almost certain that E.On [ETR: EOAN] will sell its 47% stake in Uniper to Fortum, however, the offer cannot be accepted as it does not match Uniper's true value, and Fortum's real intentions are still unclear, the item said.
The biggest thing for Uniper management is that Fortum's EUR 22 per share offer is below the company stock price, which was nearly EUR 24 as on Tuesday afternoon. Uniper has good growth potential, and Fortum's strategy and know-how do not add value to its growth, Schäfer said in the piece.