Austrian oil and gas company OMV AG (OMV.VI) has said it's interested in participating in the upcoming part-privatization of Croation peer INA Nafte d.d. (INA.ZG) in a letter to the Croatian government, reports Austrian financial daily Wirtschaftsblatt Friday.
In the letter signed by OMV Chief Executive Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer and directed to Croatian Vice-Prime Minister Damir Polancec, OMV declares its interest in the sale of a 19% INA-stake held by the Croatian state, and says it expects a "transparent" tender will be held "in accordance with European Union standards," reports Wirtschaftsblatt, citing unnamed Croatian sources.
The call for an open tender could be seen as an attempt to capsize ongoing negotiations between the Croatian government and Hungarian oil and gas company MOL Nyrt. (MOL.BU) for a share swap arrangement that would see Croatia take a stake in MOL and MOL up its blocking minority stake in INA.
OMV and MOL have been in a bitter takeover battle, since OMV last summer declared its wish to make an unsolicited $20 billion takeover offer for MOL. From an OMV perspective, a share swap between MOL and INA would only further complicate the Austrian company's efforts to reach a deal.
OMV has also declared its interest in a 7% INA stake held by a Croatian war veterans' fund, Wirtschaftsblatt says.