The German government has agreed to take a 30% stake in Uniper SE with a capital infusion to bailout the giant utility, which has suffered from natural gas supply cuts and soaring prices.

Uniper’s CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach said the deal would preserve the company’s “system-critical” role for Germany’s energy supply. The country is the largest European importer of Russian natural gas.

The German government would provide a capital increase of $273 million to purchase shares and also provide up to $7.8 billion of convertible securities. The company’s largest shareholder, Finnish energy company Fortum Oyj, has agreed to dilute its stake from about 80% to 56%. Uniper noted that the government would have a significant role on the company’s board. 

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