The Hungarian oil and gas group MOL has made a general offer to buy the shares of the small shareholders in the Croatian oil and gas company INA at 2,800 kuna per share. The offer was announced on the Zagreb Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
"The offer can be accepted from 15 December 2010 until 14 January 2011. The term for payment of the price is 31 January 2011. The acceptance of the offer should be received by CDCC (the Central Depositary and Clearing Company) by the last day of the validity term," MOL said.
MOL will cover the costs of certification by a notary-public of signatures on offer acceptance documents and other possible costs of notarisation. Any other costs relating to the acceptance of the general offer will be borne by the shareholder.
MOL said that the offered price was fixed. "We made a transparent and clear offer which is equally available for all shareholders, and which is in line with HANFA's requirements. This is our final offer," MOL spokesman Domokos Szollar said.
The Hungarian company owns 47.155 per cent of shares in INA. After a voluntary takeover offer in 2008, MOL said it was giving another opportunity to small shareholders to sell their shares above the market price.
"We made a promise to INA employees back then that when we manage to get INA back on track, we would make another offer for their shares as a gesture. And this is not just about sale of shares but to put INA in good hands. In the recent years we proved that INA is on the right path, and the energy expert MOL as a strategic partner of Croatia can and will deliver the success for INA," Szollar said.
"The concerns that a stake higher than 50% would mean higher rights for MOL are unfounded. The rights of the Republic of Croatia regarding INA will not change by any means. The Shareholders Agreement is in full force and ensures both parties' rights firmly. This is another opportunity for small shareholders of INA offering a bonus of more than 60% compared to the average share price at the time of publishing our decision on making an offer," he added.
MOL announced at a press conference on December 2 it wanted to purchase 8.009 percent of shares in INA held by institutional and private investors. After the announcement, the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (HANFA) ordered suspension of trading in INA shares until the public was informed about the details of the offer.
Trading in INA shares resumed on Tuesday after HANFA gave its approval on Monday. The price at the start of trading was 2,830 kuna per share, which was 65.40 per cent higher than on December 2 and 30 kuna higher than MOL's offer. Over 65,500 INA shares changed hands today, generating a turnover of 185.4 million kuna.
