MOL declines to comment on reports Surgutneftegas after INA stake

http://bbjonline.hu/index.php?col=1004&cat=1004&id=50536

Thursday 17:36, October 22nd, 2009

Hungarian oil and gas company MOL declined to comment when asked about a report in German business daily Handelsblatt that Russia's Surgutneftegas would part with its MOL shares if it can have MOL's stake in Croatia's INA.

Surgutneftegas acquired the 21.2% stake in MOL from Austria's OMV at the end of March. MOL's management called the deal unfriendly and Hungary's president expressed concern about the transaction.

MOL raised its stake in INA to 47.2% in a public-purchase offer in the autumn of 2008. The state of Croatia owns 44.8%.

In response to a question whether such an exchange of shares was technically possible, MOL communications director Dóra Somlyai said MOL's agreement with the state of Croatia prohibits the sale of its INA shares. MOL cannot make that agreement public unilaterally, she added. (MTI – Econews)