Today is the deadline for submitting preliminary bids for the state’s 63% stake in Unipetrol. Recall that among the 17 companies that have reportedly expressed an interest in Unipetrol are: PKN Orlen/ConocoPhillips, MOL, BorsodChem of Hungary, ENI, Shell, KazMunaiGaz and Kazakhan Investment Company of the Kazakh Republic, the Czech-Slovak financial group Penta, Lobsters, Romar-Oil, Bohemian Best, the Czech-based Vitkovice R&D, and a consortium of Raiffeisenbank CEE Private Equity Fund and AIG.
A shortlist of bidders should be announced on January 15-16. Binding bids should be submitted by mid-March and the privatization is expected to be completed by the end of March 2004.
Jitka Oppitzová