Uniper was once the largest importer of Russian gas in Europe. As energy prices began to climb in January, it secured €8 billion from Fortum, which had begun a €7 billion takeover for the German company in 2017 that was completed three years later. At that time, the Russian Gazprom was pumping natural gas through Nord Stream and plans for a second version, Nord Stream 2, were moving ahead.
“The role of gas in Europe has fundamentally changed since Russia attacked Ukraine, and so has the outlook for a gas-heavy portfolio,” Markus Rauramo, Fortum’s chief executive, said in a statement explaining its decision to divest. Fortum’s share price rose 14 percent in early trading in Helsinki.
Fortum, which is majority owned by the Finnish state, is now faced with losses of about €5.5 billion, Mr. Rauramo told reporters in Finland. “The loss is huge,” he said. “Things have not gone as we planned.”
The government in Helsinki had sought to avoid having the company inject any further capital into the German energy provider, amid growing discontent in Finland. Finnish taxpayers, like others in Europe, have faced higher gas prices while their German counterparts have been protected so far, because energy providers cannot directly pass the higher gas prices on to their customers.
Germany has been buying more natural gas from Norway, the Netherlands and other countries that cool and ship the fuel as liquefied natural gas. But that has driven prices up to previously unseen levels, with the benchmark European gas contract setting a record high last month. It currently trades at just over €200 per megawatt-hour, down from recent highs but more than double the level in early June.
Asked whether Uniper had considered filing for bankruptcy instead of seeking help from the German government, Mr. Maubach said the move had been considered, but was never viewed as a serious option.
“They would have had to do what we have had to do, buy gas on the open market for much higher prices,” Mr. Maubach told reporters.
Johanna Lemola contributed reporting from Helsinki.
