The Croatian government has still not discussed the public offer made by the Hungarian gas and oil company MOL for the purchase of eight percent of shares in the Croatian oil company INA held by the small shareholders, Economy Minister Djuro Popijac said on Friday, adding that it was unfair of MOL not to have communicated its decision to the government before going public with it.
Speaking to reporters after a government session, Popijac said that he did not consider MOL's offer immoral, adding that as the owner of 47 percent of INA shares, MOL had the right to announce the offer.
"Nevertheless, we believe that not communicating that decision to the Croatian government, as one of its partners, was unfair," Popijac said.
"We now expect an invitation to official talks so we could see what they actually intend and how they see our future relations and cooperation," the minister said.
Asked if by buying shares from the small shareholders MOL could become the owner of more than 50 percent of INA's shares, Popijac recalled the shareholders agreement regarding managing rights.
"We will see if MOL's offer in any way changes the existing relations and what MOL actually thinks," said the minister.
Asked about the course of talks on the government taking over from INA its gas business, Popijac said that every detail was being discussed.
"We still have not completed those talks. We would like the situation to develop in the best possible way, to the satisfaction of both parties," he said.
The minister would not speak about household gas prices, saying only that he would talk about it when the time came.
MOL currently holds a 47.16 percent stake in INA. MOL spokesman Domokos Szollar announced at a news conference on Thursday MOL's offer for the purchase of shares from the small shareholders at the price of HRK 2,800 per share.
MOL's offer refers to 800,910 shares or an 8.009 percent interest in INA which is held by institutional and private investors.
The Croatian government holds a 44.83 percent stake in INA.
