Hungarian oil and gas company MOL Nyrt. (MOL.BU) acquired about 20% of Croatian refiner INA d.d. (INA.ZG) via a public bid that ended Friday, Hungarian daily Nepszabadsag reports in its weekend edition, without citing sources.
MOL paid close to $1 billion for the 2 million INA shares it bought, the paper says.
MOL launched a buyout bid in July for all outstanding INA shares not owned by MOL or the Croatian government at a price of 2,800 Croatian kuna ($543.5) a share.
Croatian shareholders rejected the offer when the price was first published saying it undervalued INA. However, the recent slide in INA's share price as a result of the global financial crisis prompted many investors to finally accept the MOL offer, the paper reports.
MOL owns 25% of INA and is in talks with the Zagreb cabinet to acquire a 19% stake from the government, which has a 44% stake in the company.