The Finnish energy company Fortum is “hoping” its unsolicited bid to buy Eon’s stake in Uniper will succeed, a company spokesman has told Utility Week.
Last week, Fortum announced that its negotiations with Eon were at an advanced stage, leading to speculation that a deal was imminent.
Uniper quickly responded with an announcement of its own, claiming that it preferred not to be sold.
“We have said we want to buy Eon’s stake in Uniper. Eon wants to sell. We are hoping, but nothing is definite until a deal is done,” a Fortum spokesperson told Utility Week.
Fortum has around 150 hydro power plants in Sweden, while Uniper has 200 hydro plants in Sweden and Germany.
The two companies also have considerable gas generation capacity in Russia, plus some in Poland.
“We at Fortum are looking to invest and to grow our market share in Central Europe as well as in countries where both companies are already established, like Russia and Poland,” the spokesperson added.
“We want to be growing in our home market, which is Central Europe, increased power generation and supply and we also want to generate cash flow,” she said.
“A stake in Uniper matches all these objectives very well,” she added
Last year, Uniper reported a pre-tax profit of €2.1 billion on a turnover of €67 billion.
In comparison, Fortum’s full-year 2016 sales totaled €3.6 billion and its pre-tax earnings came to €1 billion.