Unipetrol announced on Tuesday that it has made an offer to sell its 51% stake in Ceska rafinerska (CRa) to the IOC consortium (Agip, Royal Dutch Shell, Conoco), which holds 49% of CRa. The consortium has an option to buy Unipetrol's stake in the event of Unipetrol's privatization; IOC has 30 days to take a decision on the present offer. Though offered price was not officially disclosed, the Czech daily MFDnes reported that it is in a range of USD 254 mil.-256 mil. (CZK 8.48 bil.-8.55 bil.), which is higher than our valuation of the stake (CZK 7.2 bil.). Neutral news at the moment, positive if the unofficially reported prices prove accurate.
Separately, the Czech Anti-Monopoly Office has suspended an administrative process regarding Agrofert's acquisition of Unipetrol since it is waiting on requested documentation in that regard from Agrofert.
(Jiri Soustruznik)