DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - Uniper (DE:UN01) on Thursday said it remained opposed to Fortum's (HE:FORTUM) plan to take a 47 percent stake in the German utility, adding it would be better off as a standalone company going forward.
Finland's Fortum had launched a full takeover bid for Uniper as part of an agreement to buy a 46.65 percent stake owned by E.ON (DE:EONGn), but in total just 47.12 percent were tendered when the bid expired last month, shy of a controlling stake.
"This is a big success for Uniper, and I'm very pleased with it," Uniper Chief Executive Klaus Schaefer told journalists at the group's annual press conference. "We've been able to play our way into overtime. And I'm eager to find out when and how the game will end."
Fortum has committed to seek regulatory approval for the deal from numerous jurisdictions, including Russia, by the end of October at the latest to complete the deal.