Energy
Croatia to hire advisor on possible buyback of INA stake from Hungary's Mol
The advisor, to be selected by the energy and finance ministries, will assist the government in the transaction, prime minister Andrej Plenkovic said during a session aired live on broadcaster HRT.
He added that
INA’s market capitalisation is currently about HRK 32.4 billion (cc. USD 5.16 bn), but the relevance of this figure is diminished by the low free float and an unknown variable, namely Mol’s asking price for the INA stake.
Croatia has been struggling to reduce public debt, which was close to 85% of GDP in January, and the government floated a tentative idea to sell 25% of state power board HEP in an initial public offering to help to fund an INA buyout, though some analysts doubted that such a move would be sufficient.
Prior to today’s decision, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) dismissed Croatia's claims of bribery and alleged breaches of a shareholders agreement for INA by Mol. The lawsuit was filed by Croatia in 2014 with the aim to cancel a 2009 deal which saw Mol gain managerial rights at INA without owning a majority stake.
Front page photo by Shutterstock
He added that
a council in charge of negotiations with Mol has already defined the criteria for the purchase of the INA stake, as the advisor will be tasked with assessing INA's value and reviewing possible strategic partners.
Plenkovic announced the cabinet’s decision to regain the Mol package last Christmas, but no information have been released about the how and the when. Mol has a 49.08% stake in INA and the government holds a 44.84% stake in it.INA’s market capitalisation is currently about HRK 32.4 billion (cc. USD 5.16 bn), but the relevance of this figure is diminished by the low free float and an unknown variable, namely Mol’s asking price for the INA stake.
Croatia has been struggling to reduce public debt, which was close to 85% of GDP in January, and the government floated a tentative idea to sell 25% of state power board HEP in an initial public offering to help to fund an INA buyout, though some analysts doubted that such a move would be sufficient.
Prior to today’s decision, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) dismissed Croatia's claims of bribery and alleged breaches of a shareholders agreement for INA by Mol. The lawsuit was filed by Croatia in 2014 with the aim to cancel a 2009 deal which saw Mol gain managerial rights at INA without owning a majority stake.
Front page photo by Shutterstock
