Linklaters advises Uniper on the sale of the Datteln 4 coal-fired power plant

Linklaters has advised Uniper on the sale of the Datteln 4 coal-fired power plant in North Rhine-Westphalia to ResInvest Group a.s. The transaction includes not only the coal infrastructure but also the associated heat generation facilities.

The Datteln 4 coal-fired power plant has a net electrical output of 1,052 megawatts. Since its commissioning in 2020, it has ranked among the most efficient and flexible coal-fired power plants worldwide. The plant supplies electricity to households and provides 50 Hz traction power to Deutsche Bahn. In addition, it reliably supplies district heating to several thousand households in the northern Ruhr area. Currently, the Datteln site employs more than 100 people.

As part of the European Commission’s state aid approval process for the Uniper stabilisation package, Uniper is required to implement a number of structural remedies, including the divestment of the Datteln 4 power plant.

The completion of the transaction remains subject to the necessary regulatory approvals.

“We are pleased to have once again advised Uniper on a significant transaction. Our comprehensive legal advice on the sale of Datteln 4 underlines the trust placed in our expertise and our commitment to complex energy and corporate law projects,” said Thomas Schulz, Partner and German Head of Energy Sector at Linklaters.

Uniper, headquartered in Düsseldorf, is a European energy company with operations in over 40 countries. The company employs approximately 7,500 people and is mainly active in Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

ResInvest Group is a privately owned trading and investment company focusing on power plants, chemical companies, and large-scale industrial raw material processors.

Linklaters regularly advises Uniper on significant transactions, including the company’s stabilisation in 2022. Most recently, the M&A / Energy team led by Thomas Schulz assisted Uniper with the sale of its district heating business to the Steag Iqony Group.

The Linklaters team is led by Thomas Schulz (Partner, M&A/Energy, Berlin), Christopher Bremme (Of Counsel, M&A/Energy, Berlin) and Laura Marx-Pfälzner (Managing Associate, M&A/Energy, Berlin). The team also included Prof Dr Markus Appel (Partner, Environmental and Planning Law, Berlin), Dr Julian Böhmer (Partner, Tax, Düsseldorf), Dr David-Julien dos Santos Goncalves (Partner, Antitrust & Foreign Investment, Düsseldorf), Dr René Döring (Partner, Employment, Frankfurt), Dr Jan Endler (Partner, Public Commercial Law, Berlin), Dr Jörg Fried (Partner, Structured Finance, Berlin), Dr Sabine Vorwerk (Partner, Restructuring & Insolvency, Frankfurt), Christopher Bremme (Of Counsel, M&A/Energy, Berlin), Rico Kaßmann (Counsel, Public Commercial Law, Berlin), Dr Ingo Klauß (Counsel, Antitrust & Foreign Investment, Düsseldorf), Julia Sack (Counsel, M&A/Energy, Berlin), Dr Marc Voelker (Counsel, Structured Finance, Berlin), Sebastian Meyn (Managing Associate, Environmental and Planning Law, Berlin), Dr Luca Rawe (Managing Associate, Employment, Düsseldorf/Frankfurt), Dr Benedikt Schewe (Managing Associate, Tax, Düsseldorf), Dr Felix Stoecker (Managing Associate, Real Estate, Berlin), Dr Max Fuss (Associate, Tax, Düsseldorf), Sinan Günebakan (Associate, Antitrust & Foreign Investment, Düsseldorf), Andreas Hofheinz-Bartole (Associate, M&A/Energy, Berlin), Colin Laws (Associate, Employment, Frankfurt), Lea Schürmann (Associate, Corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf), Dr Maximilian Volmar (Associate, M&A/Energy, Berlin), and Dr Jens Weuthen (Associate, Environmental and Planning Law, Berlin).