Czech Rep: Unipetrol to Buy Out the Shares of Paramo

The buy out of the shares of the minority shareholders in Paramo, after which Unipetrol will become the sole shareholder in Paramo, will be conducted in accordance with the Commercial Code (Section 183i ff). Unipetrol, which currently holds 91.77% of the shares, will require in excess of CZK 100 million to execute this step.

“The refining segment is one of our three core businesses, together with petrochemicals and the retailing of fuel. The purchase of the remaining shares will enable us to strengthen our position within the refinery segment. The full incorporation of Paramo into the Unipetrol structure and alignment with PKN Orlen will help us to reduce costs and may also yield other benefits. It could, for example, lead to the coordination of production and sales,” said François Vleugels, the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Unipetrol.

Based on the independent expert valuation prepared by American Appraisal, s.r.o., the price per share was set at CZK 977. The value of all the shares to be bought out will amount to an aggregate of CZK 106,965,868. The buy-out and the price must first be approved by the Czech National Bank.

Czech refiner Unipetrol plans to squeeze out minority shareholders in its refiner Paramo, the company said. Unipetrol, which holds 91.77 percent of Paramo, said it will offer 977 crowns per share in the takeover, equal to 106.9 million crowns ($5.96 million) for the remaining shares.  The group, a unit of Poland's PKN Orlen PKNA.WA, has been looking for ways to improve its capital structure and had raised its stake in Paramo above the 90 percent level needed to launch a takeover in August.

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