By Christoph Steitz and Andreas Rinke
FRANKFURT/BERLIN (Reuters) -A rescue package for Uniper must be agreed by July 25, when the German utility could face more serious funding issues as a result of reduced gas supplies from Russia, two people familiar with the matter said.
Berlin is leaning towards taking an equity stake of 15% to 30% in Uniper as the preferred option for a bail out of the stricken group, the sources said, adding this package would be worth a mid single-digit billion euro amount.
Uniper, Germany's largest importer of Russian gas, is losing cash on a daily basis as it is forced to buy supplies at much higher prices from alternative sources because Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) has reduced deliveries.
Apart from providing a badly needed cash injection to Uniper, taking a direct stake would also prevent the utility's credit rating from falling to junk, which is just one notch away, the people familiar with the discussions said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, they said intense negotiations between the German and Finnish governments, Uniper and its Finnish parent Fortum were continuing.
Finland owns 51% of Fortum, which in turn owns 78% of Uniper.
An alternative plan, favoured by Fortum, to Germany taking a stake would include ringfencing Uniper's German gas activities and handing them over to the German government, four sources said.
But they added this scenario was seen as too complex given the need for a fast solution.
Fortum and Uniper declined to comment and the German government was not immediately available for comment.
The Finnish government did not respond to a request for comment.
Earlier, state ownership steering minister Tytti Tuppurainen said talks over Uniper needed to end within days, adding Finland did not want Fortum to invest more in the firm.