Apollo Enters $11.5 Billion Bidding War for Germany’s Uniper
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Apollo Global Management has entered the bidding for Germany’s largest gas importer, Uniper, submitting a non-binding offer that joins proposals from several major European energy and investment firms. The sale could value the energy giant at approximately €10 billion ($11.6 billion).
The German government currently holds a 99.12% stake in Uniper, following a €13.5 billion state bailout in 2022. The rescue was triggered when Russia halted pipeline gas deliveries, forcing Uniper to purchase replacement supplies at record-high market prices to fulfill its contracts.
Apollo enters a highly competitive field. Other interested parties include Norway’s Equinor, Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s EPH, a joint bid from Brookfield and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and a partnership between German utility RWE and private equity firm KKR. German officials and their financial advisers are expected to select the bidders advancing to the next stage in the coming weeks.
Uniper remains a cornerstone of Germany’s energy infrastructure. It distributes roughly 190 TWh of gas annually, holds 57 TWh of LNG regasification capacity bookings, and manages 7.2 billion cubic meters of underground gas storage, with 5.9 bcm located in Germany. After officially terminating its long-term supply agreements with Russia’s Gazprom Export in 2024, Uniper restructured its portfolio around alternative sources, including long-term LNG import deals from the United States and Australia.
Under the state-aid conditions mandated by the European Commission during the energy crisis, Berlin must decrease its ownership in Uniper to a maximum of 25% plus one share by the end of 2028. To meet this requirement, the government is exploring both a direct private sale of up to 74.12% of the company and a public stock market offering, while retaining the minimum blocking minority share.
