On March 3, 2008, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services placed its 'A-' long-term corporate credit rating on Finland-based integrated utility Fortum Oyj on CreditWatch with negative implications. At the same time, the 'A-2' short-term corporate credit rating was affirmed. The CreditWatch placement follows an announcement that the company will acquire up to 100% of Russia-based Territorial Generating Company 10 (TGC-10) for a maximum €2.7 billion. TGC-10 is a leading district heating supplier based in the Urals region with annual production of 18 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity and 27 TWh of heat. Fortum's business profile is expected to weaken following the acquisition through the addition of a significant amount of electricity generation and heating capacity based in the risky Russian market.
