Two to tango for no. 2 refinery after deadline expires

After the deadline expired yesterday for offers to buy a strategic share in Rafineria Gdanska (RG), only two consortia were left in the running for up to 75% of shares in Poland's no. 2 oil refinery: the British-Polish duo of privately-owned Rotch Energy Ltd. together with Konsorcjum Gdanskie and the consortium of Hungary's oil concern MOL and Russian energy heavyweight Yukos. Both contenders put RG's current value at $200 million. In addition to submitting their offer for the stake, Rotch, owner of a network of 180 gas stations in Great Britain, and its Polish partners consisting of domestic gas distributors and financial institutions Kredyt Bank, Bank Ochrony Srodowiska and a BRE Bank-owned fund, pledged to invest some $500 million in RG in the future if they were chosen as the refinery's strategic investor. Analysts say Bank Handlowy, another rival earlier in the tender, was told to bow out of the race by its majority owner Citibank over fears that the investment would not bring in high enough returns. Insiders believe that the Treasury might be considering annulling the entire deal and giving the country's largest energy concern PKN Orlen an opportunity to acquire the stake. According to the Treasury's current schedule, a strategic investor should be selected by late June or early July. (Puls Biznesu, p.5, Rzeczpospolita, p.B1) M.T.