Sources say that Kretinsky EPH is among the suitors who have approached Uniper about its EPH.

Three people with knowledge of the matter claim that Berlin has approached Daniel Kretinsky, a Czech billionaire, about buying German state-owned utility Uniper.

Sources said that other funds approached included the New York-based fund Brookfield and Equinor, a Norwegian company.

One source, who declined to identify themselves because the talks were confidential, said that the Czech energy holding company EPH is "participating in the process".

Both EPH and Uniper declined to comment.

The Finance Ministry which is responsible for Berlin's share had no immediate comments.

Sources have confirmed that Berlin is considering selling its 99.12% share in Uniper. The company was nationalised in Europe's energy crises in 2022 and had to be sold off in parts or in full.

Uniper's current value is 19 billion euros (19,6 billion dollars), meaning that a stake sale in 2025 could be among the biggest deals ever made in Europe even though some sources claim a discount would be involved.

EPH has acquired some Uniper assets across France in 2019. It is also no stranger to Germany’s energy sector having purchased Vattenfall’s local lignite fired power stations in 2016.

Kretinsky's investment firms also control a fifth of Thyssenkrupp Steel and 45,62 % of Metro Wholesaler in Germany.

In one of Germany's largest corporate rescues, the government spent 13.5 billion euro to bail out Uniper.

Two people have said that any deal involving Uniper, as a critical infrastructure, will be subject to a thorough regulatory review.

Berlin can review and block any attempt by non-EU buyers to purchase more than 10% of German power assets.

Uniper is the largest gas storage company in Germany and supplied about a quarter (25%) of its gas consumption last year. Uniper also controls nearly a quarter the so-called "systemically relevant" power capacity of Germany, which is kept in reserve to guarantee supply.

(source: Reuters)