Hungary's government confirmed on Wednesday that it plans to sell its remaining 1.73% stake (1.9m shares) in MOL by the end of 2006 in a retail public offering. The shares will be available to domestic investors only and retail investors will receive a priority in the transaction. Government added that if it does not succeed with the SPO, the shares would be sold on the stock exchange.
Our view: The stake is worth some US$200 million, and it is a question whether domestic investors can subscribe the amount. Therefore, we can imagine a short-term pressure on the share price because as market might want deeper discount to absorb the amount.