More stumbling blocks to Orlen's merger with MOL

According to the report, a merger would mean the State Treasury's stake in Orlen would decrease from the present 33% to less than 25%, the level required to block changes in Orlen's statute. Meanwhile, Yukos is already reported to control some 10% of MOL and by buying a relatively small portion of Orlen's dispersed shares it could play a big role in the merged company. Meanwhile, following the publication of the report in Saturday's newspapers, Prime Minister Leszek Miller said that his Cabinet would not make a final decision on the merger. Furthermore, putting the deal off until after Poland's EU entry could be a serious complication, as then it would have to be approved by the European Commission (Gazeta Wyborcza, April 17-18, pp. 1, 28; Rzeczpospolita, April 17-18, p. A1; Rzeczpospolita, p. A1) T.J.