Shell has ended talks with Unimot over selling German refinery stake, Bloomberg News reports

Aug 27 (Reuters) - British oil major Shell has ended negotiations to sell its stake in Germany's Russia-linked Schwedt refinery to Polish energy group Unimot, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter

• The sale discussions, which began in 2023, concluded months ago, the Bloomberg report said.

• Shell declined to comment

• Unimot, which emerged as a possible buyer of Shell's 37.5% stake in Germany's PCK Schwedt refinery, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.

• The refinery, majority-owned by Russia's Rosneft, has been a problem for the German government ever since Berlin ended energy ties with Moscow in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

• Germany put Rosneft's 54.17% stake under trusteeship, essentially giving the government control over the asset while technically leaving ownership in the Russian group's hands — a move that prompted Shell to revive its sale plans.

• According to Bloomberg, Shell and Unimot had been in advanced talks as of February, before ending talks.

(Reporting by Sumedha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Joyjeet Das)