Among the expected bidders in Unipetrol’s privatization, PKN Orlen of Poland confirmed its interest in the Czech state’s 63% stake in the petrochemical company yesterday, MOL of Hungary said it is seriously considering an expression of interest, and OMV of Austria said it would not bid as it has enough capacity in this region following its acquisition of Bayernoil of Germany, Reuters reported yesterday.
The news is clearly negative as any reduction in the number of potential bidders decreases the likelihood of aggressive bidding and a subsequent attractive buyout price for minority shareholders (this is reinforced by the fact that there is a chance of PKN Orlen and MOL bidding in a consortium after a recent indication of their intention to merge their activities).
The Financial Times reported yesterday that among the major potential bidders remain PKN Orlen, MOL, the Russian Yukos and Surgutneftegaz, the British Rotch Energy, and the American ConocoPhilips.
Jiří Soustružník