Orlen closer to full Unipetrol takeover

The largest minority shareholder of Czech Unipetrol, Paulinino will sell its stake to WSE-listed fuel giant PKN Orlen, the company said. Paulinino, which owns 20 percent stake in Unipetrol decided to sell as it expects the high performance in the sector would be hard to maintain. “Such favorable macro conditions, as the sector enjoyed between 2015 and 2017, will be very difficult to maintain over the long term together with low oil prices,” Paulinino representative Pavel Muchna said in a statement. In previous years, tensions between Orlen and Paulinino were high as the minority shareholder questioned Orlen’s strategy and sought higher dividends. Orlen, which currently holds 62.99 percent of Unipetrol, launched a tender offer for the remaining stake at CZK 380 apiece. The offer will be valid if Orlen is able to secure at least a 90 percent stake is tendered. Orlen plans to delist Unipetrol from the Prague bourse if the tender offer is successful.