German energy company E.ON has advanced negotiations over the sale of its stake in its fossil generation business Uniper.

It said Finnish utility Fortum is planning to buy a 46.65% stake in the spin-off firm.

The energy supplier added in a statement: “Fortum’s offer to all Uniper shareholders would comprise a cash consideration with a total value of €22 (£19.5) per share.

“Should an agreement be reached with Fortum and if E.ON decides in early 2018 to tender its Uniper shares, the total value received by E.ON for its Uniper stake would be €3.8 billion (£3.4bn).”

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals.