Finance Minister B. Sobotka confirmed that PKN intends to complete the acquisition of Unipetrol after talking with PKN management and Polish counterparts in Warsaw. According to B. Sobotka now that the new European Commission has taken office the approval of the transaction should find no more obstacles. The EC is expected to rule on whether PKN got a state subsidy when acquiring the 63% stake from the Czech state and if the merger would create a monopoly. Final documents should be submitted to the EC by both parties involved, i.e. the Czech state and PKN, this week. The EC then has one month to decide but could postpone the deadline in case more information is needed. Note that PKN won the Unipetrol privatization tender this year in April for CZK99 / share. The transaction is expected to be completed in 1Q 2005. Please note that Unipetrol is on the Patria restricted list. Neutral.
Source: CTK
Tomáš Gatěk, Patria Finance