PKN Orlen continues to search for potential acquisitions in the region, Vice-
President Cezary Smorszczewski told a Wednesday conference, though he
declined to provide any further details. According to him the company
considers potential acquisitions mainly on the Czech and German markets
and other locations close to Poland in order to benefit from the geographic
premium. The final decision on purchase of Ventspils Nafta will be taken
until October 5. PKN is also considering enlarging its economy gas station
networks in the Czech Republic and Germany, which operate under the
name Benzina and Star, respectively.
Our view:
It seems to us that PKN is looking for the retail assets in the mentioned
regions as we do not see any potential refiners assets up for sale. As we
wrote earlier, there is a poor explanation for reasons of purchasing Ventspils
Nafta, which faces the same supply problems as Mazeikiu. Therefore we
would welcome the PKN's refusal to acquire the asset. Until no further
details on possible acquisitions we await a neutral reaction from the market.