Bailed-out German energy firm Sefe repays $510 million in state aid

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Germany's Sefe, the former Gazprom division nationalised during Europe's energy crisis, has repaid 450 million euros ($510 million) in state aid received as part of its 6.3 billion euro bailout, it said on Friday.

This takes the total amount of aid repaid so far to 700 million euros, the company said.

"This not only benefits German taxpayers, but also shows that we have successfully navigated the crisis," its finance chief Christian Ohlms said.

"Today, we are ideally positioned to provide our German and European customers with a secure and reliable supply of affordable energy."

Under EU requirements, Berlin must reduce its stake in Sefe to no more than 25% plus one share by 2028, similar to Uniper, which also had to be bailed out after Russia suspended gas supplies in 2022.

Uniper, which received a 13.5 billion euro bailout, in March said it had repaid 2.6 billion in state aid in the first quarter.

($1 = 0.8827 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz, editing by Thomas Seythal)