Uniper (OTC:UNPPY) (OTC:UNPRF) shares plunged 28% in Germany on Monday following reports the company is in talks with the government over a potential bailout package of as much as €9B (~$9.4B) to help companies buckling under the cost of soaring prices for natural gas imports.
The government is considering a set of measures, including loans, taking an equity stake and passing part of rising gas prices on to customers.
A possible bailout for Uniper, Europe’s largest importer of Russian gas, could be modeled on pandemic relief for airline Lufthansa, which was saved from bankruptcy during the coronavirus pandemic with a €9B aid package.
Shares in Finland’s Fortum (OTCPK:FOJCF) (OTCPK:FOJCY), Uniper’s parent company, fell nearly 10% in Helsinki.
Uniper also said regional authorities in Germany have given the go-ahead for the construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal on the North Sea coast, capable of handling up to 7.5B cm/year of natural gas.
The company said earlier that it was receiving just 40% of the contractually committed gas it ordered from Russia’s Gazprom.