Czech Republic: Unipetrol Not to Bid for Ceska Rafinerska
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, 03 November 2009 |
|
Unipetrol, owned by PKN Orlen is unlikely to bid for a stake in Ceska
Rafinerska, PKN Orlen chief executive Jacek Krawiec was quoted as
saying this week.
Krawiec, who also heads Unipetrol's supervisory board, said it would
be a good solution if the stake was instead bought by Mero, the Czech
state-owned pipeline operator. Unipetrol has posted three
consecutive quarterly losses, a situation which may make the refiner
more cautious about taking on new investment. "Our situation is
not comfortable in terms of potential acquisitions," he told the daily
Parkiet. "Such effort would be worth making only if a price for the
packge would be very attractive."
Shell is reportedly seeking a buyer for its 16.3 percent stake in Ceska
Rafinerska, of which Unipetrol already controls 51 percent.
In October, Czech Industry and Trade Minister Tomas Huener said Mero
was considering taking a stake in the country's main oil refinery Ceska
Rafinerska to keep it out of Russian hands. "It (Mero) is an
investor, which could make cooperation easier and allow us to carry out
some changes that we have raised earlier," Krawiec was quoted.
PetrolWorld 021109
|
