MOL bids for Rafineria Gdanska, eyeing PKN Orlen

The Hungarian oil and gas concern MOL has submitted its final bid for the purchase of a majority stake in Rafineria Gdaсska, the second largest Polish oil refinery, with capacity to process 4.24 million tons a year. The deal could be one of the largest cross-border transactions in Central Europe, and analysts say that the bid may initiate MOL's cooperation with PKN Orlen, Poland's biggest oil refining concern, with 12.5 million tons of crude oil processed last year, leading to a capital tie-up between the two. However, Apart from normal discussion between two strong regional companies looking to add value to their shareholders, there has not been any agreement made with PKN and we think of the Gdaсska opportunity on a stand-alone basis, said Zoltan Aldott, head of MOL's strategy department. MOL has so far invested $262 million in the purchase of 36% stake in Slovakian refiner Slovnaft, its first step towards the domestic Polish fuel market. (Reuters, Rzeczpospolita, B4) M. S.-C.