Germany will begin selling a Gazprom unit confiscated from Russia
20 April 12:56
The German subsidiary of Russia’s Gazprom, which Germany seized following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, is preparing to take the first step toward privatization. This was announced by its chief executive officer, according to the Financial Times, as reported by "Komersant Ukrainian".
The company, now called Sefe, intends to raise between 1.5 billion and 2 billion euros through a capital increase, Egbert Lege told the Financial Times. These funds are planned to be used to expand the part of the business that manages infrastructure assets.
Sefe stands for Securing Energy for Europe and was formerly known as Gazprom Germania. The company includes assets such as gas storage facilities and pipelines, as well as a trading business in the UK, formerly known as Gazprom Marketing & Trading.
This will mark the first dilution of the German government’s 100% stake in the company. Under European Commission rules, the state must sell at least 75% of its stake by the end of 2028.
Lege said that the war with Iran has given an additional boost to the group’s privatization plans, as restricted flows from the Middle East have underscored the importance of reliable suppliers. This has also pushed gas prices higher.
Some industry representatives speculated that the company’s assets could be split up and sold separately. However, Sefe intends to keep the two “engines” of the business—regulated assets and trading operations—together, as they complement each other, Lege said.
Others speculated that Germany might merge Sefe with gas importer Uniper, which was also nationalized in 2022 after it teetered on the brink of collapse following Russia’s cut in gas supplies to Europe.
Recall:
On August 28, 2022, the German government established a holding company to carry out the nationalization of the former Gazprom subsidiary SEFE (Securing Energy for Europe), which until 2022 was known as Gazprom Germania GmbH.
As early as December of that year, the European Commission granted the German government permission to nationalize the energy company Uniper, which was the largest importer of Russian gas, and SEFE, which had previously been a subsidiary of Gazprom.
