Fortum : Uniper works council criticizes Fortum's attempt to gain control

DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - An employee representative of utility Uniper on Wednesday criticized Fortum effort to gain control of the German company.

Works council chief Harald Seegatz said the move is against the interest of Uniper.

The Finnish utility said on Tuesday it was set to gain control of Uniper by acquiring the stakes of activist funds Elliott [ECAL.UL] and Knight Vinke, potentially ending a long-running deadlock over ownership of the group.

"The attempt to create the impression that the situation is now substantially different is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public and exert pressure in favour of Fortum against Uniper's interests," Seegatz said in an emailed statement.

(Reporting by Tom Käckenhoff in Duesseldorf; Writing by Tom Sims; Editing by Matthew Lewis)