Russia approves Fortum plan to increase stake in Uniper - anti-monopoly service

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia approved Finnish utility Fortum's <FORTUM.HE> plan to increase its stake in Germany's Uniper <UN01.DE>, although the deal will only come into effect after legislative amendments, the head of Russia's anti-monopoly service said on Thursday.

The deal would bring Fortum's total stake to more than 70.5%. Its ownership of Uniper had been capped at 49.99% by Russian regulators due to a water licence operated by the German firm's local subsidiary Unipro <UPRO.MM>.

(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Mark Potter)