Fearing break-up, Uniper workers want IPO, not sale, as privatisation picks up

DUESSELDORF/FRANKFURT, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Uniper labour representatives oppose a sale of the state-owned utility to a strategic bidder, the head of its works council said, arguing that an initial public offering would avoid the risk of a break-up.

The comments from Martin Geilhorn come as a dual track divestment process for Uniper gathers pace, with both a sale and an IPO being possible outcomes for the company that was bailed out for €13.5 billion ($15.4 billion) during Europe's energy crisis in 2022.

Worker representatives, a powerful stakeholder group that hold half the seats on Uniper's supervisory board, fear that a strategic buyer could break up the group into parts, cut jobs and close sites.

"Only an initial public offering would preserve Uniper as a whole," Geilhorn told Reuters. "The roadshows over the past few weeks have shown that there is also interest amongst investors in buying Uniper shares."

Initial investor meetings to gauge appetite for a Uniper IPO have went well, two people familiar with the matter said.

Meantime, a potential "sale to strategic investors such as, for example, EPH" would be unacceptable, Geilhorn.

EPH, owned by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, is among the parties that have submitted indicative bids for Uniper by a September 21 deadline, two people familiar with the matter said.

EPH, already a major player in the German energy market via its long-term ownership of utility LEAG, declined to comment.

Separately, Canada's CPPIB and Brookfield have submitted a joint indicative bid, the people said.

CPPIB and Brookfield both declined to comment.

Sources old Reuters in June that EPH, Brookfield and CPPIB were among parties interested in Uniper, which could be valued at around €10 billion in what could be one of Europe's biggest utility deals this year.

Berlin, which owns 99.12% of Uniper, has announced plans to sell up to 74.12% of the company, leaving it with a 25% plus one-share blocking stake in the systemically important utility.

($1 = 0.8794 euros)

(Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff and Christoph Steitz, Editing by Louise Heavens)