Germany offers state guarantees to lure buyers for Gazprom unit

Bloomberg

Germany is seeking a buyer for Gazprom PJSC’s unit in the country by offering state-backed loans for private companies willing to take parts of or the entire business, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The German government is in talks with private buyers interested in Gazprom Germania GmbH or some of its units, which include energy supplier Wingas GmbH and gas storage firm Astora, said the person, who asked not to be named as the talks are private. Buyers would
be offered guarantees and loans through the state-owned development lender KfW IPEX-Bank, the person said.
Gazprom subsidiaries in Europe are coming under pressure as clients and business partners refuse to do business with them, raising the prospect that some won’t survive. Germany hasn’t ruled out nationalising parts of Gazprom Germania as a last resort, though Berlin wants to find another solution, the person said. Meanwhile, the UK could end up temporarily running a retail arm of Gazprom that supplies a fifth of Britain’s commercial gas.
Gazprom said it no longer owned its German subsidiary, which also has a trading arm in the UK and units from Switzerland to Singapore. The Russian gas giant didn’t disclose the new ownership, but regulatory filings showed the transaction involved exiting Gazprom Export Business Services LLC, the owner of Gazprom Germania. In turn, a company called Joint Stock Company Palmary became a shareholder of Gazprom Export Business Services LLC.
It isn’t clear who the ultimate beneficial owner of Palmary is: it was registered in October at a Moscow address, and since March 30 its general director was Dmitry Tseplyaev, according to the Russian business register.
Germany has made mixed progress in its efforts to throw a lifeline to Gazprom Germania, but the government wants to avoid
nationalisation or even expropriation of the company’s assets, the person said.