Uniper says has no de-facto operational control over Unipro since end of 2022

MOSCOW. April 26 (Interfax) - Uniper is studying the legal situation surrounding the issuance of a decree by the Russian President on the introduction of external management to Unipro, as the company has been unable to exercise operational control over its Russian asset since the end of 2022, the German energy holding said.

The company said that in the summer of 2021, they decided to sell their stake in Unipro and in the fall, they informed the Russian government about this. In September 2022, a contract was signed with a Russian buyer, but the company has not yet received approval for the deal.

Since the end of 2022, Unipro has been deconsolidated and almost completely written off Uniper's balance sheet.

The Russian president issued a decree Tuesday evening to impose temporary management for Fortum's and Uniper's Russian assets. The decree applies to 83.73% of shares in Unipro and 98.23% of shares in Fortum.

The temporary manager will exercise the powers of the owner of the movable and immovable property, securities, equity stakes in Russian companies and property rights under temporary management, with the exception of the authority to dispose of the assets, the decree said.

The Federal Property Agency has been designated the assets' temporary manager, but the Russian president, including on the recommendation of the Property Agency, can designate another manager, the decree said.

The decree does not deal with property issues and does not deprive the owners of their assets, the Federal Property Management Agency said.

"External management is temporary and means that the original owner no longer has the right to make management decisions. The external manager receives powers that allow him to ensure the efficiency of companies in accordance with their importance to the Russian economy," the agency said in a statement.