Britain, Wary of Sanctions, Adds Pressure to Keep Russian From Buying Energy Unit

LONDON — The British government on Saturday hardened its resistance to the Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman’s attempt to buy the energy subsidiary of the German utility RWE.

Mr. Fridman’s company, L1 Energy, agreed to a 5 billion euro deal with RWE last year, but its completion has been slowed by regulators’ concerns, especially in Britain, that Mr. Fridman or his company might become the target of expanded sanctions on the Russian energy industry stemming from the Ukraine conflict.

Among the prime holdings of the energy subsidiary, DEA, is a British natural gas field in the North Sea called Breagh. The British government is worried that if Mr. Fridman or his company were sanctioned, the field and other North Sea assets belonging to DEA might need to be shut down, creating serious safety and environmental risks.

A version of this article appears in print on March 1, 2015, on page A12 of the New York edition with the headline: Britain, Wary of Sanctions, Adds Pressure to Keep Russian From Buying Energy Unit . Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe

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