据Eva Brendel报道，在与私募股权公司KKR & Co.联手向这家德国企业提交非约束性收购要约后，RWE AG淡化了自身在国有企业Uniper SE中发挥重要作用的可能性。
AG has played down the prospect of taking a major role in state-owned Uniper SE, after the utility teamed up with private equity firm KKR & Co. to make a non-binding bid for the German company.
RWE首席执行官Markus Krebber周三在接受彭博社采访时指出，鉴于该公司在德国能源市场已占据重要地位，其对Uniper的参与程度将“极其有限”。他同时强调：“以我们目前的市场地位来看，RWE收购Uniper既无可能，也非我们的目标。”
Any involvement in Uniper would be “very, very limited and small,” RWE’s Chief Executive Officer Markus Krebber said in an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday, citing the company’s already significant position in the German energy market. “Given our market position already today, a takeover of Uniper by RWE - it’s not possible, it’s not what we strive for,” Krebber said.
此次联合竞标令投资者颇感意外，这也标志着RWE战略方向的转变——此前该公司管理层曾明确表示无意收购Uniper。作为德国规模最大的两家能源企业，二者的潜在合并将深刻影响该国电力与天然气市场格局及基础设施发展。
The joint bid surprised investors and marked a shift for RWE after management had previously ruled out an interest in Uniper. The two companies are among Germany’s largest energy firms, making the potential combination particularly sensitive given their positions in the country’s power and gas markets and infrastructure.
2022年欧洲能源危机期间，德国政府为救助Uniper而购入其部分股权。目前政府正研究减持方案。鉴于Uniper作为天然气进口巨头及发电运营商的重要战略地位，政府始终关注收购方的资质。据彭博社8月份报道，负责监管Uniper的德国财政部倾向于维持其天然气贸易与发电业务的完整性，并计划在出售后保留约25%的股权。
Berlin is exploring options for reducing the stake it acquired when it bailed out Uniper during Europe’s 2022 energy crisis. Uniper is a major gas importer and power plant operator, giving the government a strategic interest in who ultimately controls the company. The finance ministry, which oversees Uniper, would prefer to keep its gas-trading and power-generation businesses together and aims to retain a stake of about 25% following any sale, Bloomberg reported in August.
此次KKR-RWE联合报价仅是多家竞标方之一。据彭博新闻社披露，其他竞标者包括挪威国家石油公司Equinor ASA，以及由布鲁克菲尔德资产管理公司和加拿大养老基金投资委员会组成的财团。德国媒体还称，捷克亿万富翁Daniel Kretinsky旗下的EPH也提交了收购申请。
The KKR-RWE offer was among several submitted for Uniper. Other bidders include Norway’s Equinor ASA and a consortium of Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Bloomberg News reported. Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s EPH also submitted a bid, according to German media.
值得注意的是，Uniper员工委员会坚决反对出售方案，他们认为德国政府仍可选择的上市方式更能保障企业的独立性。
Uniper’s works council has firmly opposed a sale, arguing that an initial public offering — which remains an option for the German government — would better preserve the company’s independence.