MOL offers 20% more than rival for PKN Orlen stake

Hungarian company MOL has offered 20% more than its rival OMV of Austria for a 17.58% stake in PKN Orlen. According to Rafal Jankowski, analyst with CDM Pekao, OMV has offered around zl.21 per share, and he calculates that MOL is proposing to pay zl.25. As an added sweetener, MOL is prepared to come up with cash for the stake, while the Austrian concern is offering to pay partly in cash, and partly in shares. In its bid for the stake in the Polish oil giant, MOL has proposed the formation of a company group consisting of itself and PKN Orlen, along with Slovnaft of Slovakia. A key advantage of such a partnership would be the saving on investment, with costs estimated to be reduced by between $650 million and $800 million over 10 years. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 1) K.K.