Rotch still confident of RG acquisition
The U.K.'s Rotch Energy remains hopeful of taking 75% of Rafineria Gdanska (RG), Poland's second-largest oil refiner, despite fears the sale may be delayed until after September's general elections.
"All I can say is we hope and expect to finalize the deal soon," Rotch's Chief Executive Officer Keyvan Rahimian said. He declined to comment on the reasons for the delay.
Both Treasury Minister Aldona Kamela-Sowinska and Adam Sek, the government negotiator responsible for selling state-owned petrochemical sector assets, said the deal would go ahead this week.
Nevertheless, doubts linger about the sale being stalled until after the upcoming elections. According to an unnamed negotiator in the deal who was quoted last week in the Financial Times, if the heavily favored Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) wins the elections the sale may not go ahead at all. The source said rival firm Polski Koncern Naftowy Orlen (PKN Orlen) is exerting political pressure to block the sale.
The government moved earlier this year to bar PKN Orlen from taking part in the RG sale to avoid a monopoly on the oil market, though the company has never hidden its ambition to buy RG. And despite PKN Orlen's strong links with the ruling party, Solidarity Election Action (AWS), analysts said the government was determined not to change its anti-monopoly stance.
Delays reportedly center on the lack of guarantees from Rotch concerning its investment promises. Nafta Polska, the state agency in charge of selling petrochemical sector assets, is said to be pushing for such guarantees. Nafta officials were unavailable for comment.
Staff writer
