Czech electricity utility CEZ AS (BAACEZ.PR) said Thursday it has agreed to take a one-year loan from a bank syndicate, led by ING Bank NV, to finance its acquisition of 7% of Hungarian energy company MOL NYRT (MOL.BU).
"The margin of the loan is 17 basis points above (1-year) EURIBOR, plus adequate arrangement fees," the company said in a statement.
CEZ didn't specify the amount of the loan but spokeswoman Evan Novakova said "it will reflect the overall size of the (MOL) transaction."
CEZ is expected to spend about EUR560 million for its minority stake in MOL.
The CEZ-MOL deal, unveiled last week, is designed to help the Hungarian company's management stave off an attempted take over of MOL by Austrian oil refiner OMV AG (OMV.VI), some analysts have said.
Under their agreement, announced Dec. 20, CEZ agreed to take on the 7% equity stake in MOL - buying the stock from MOL itself at a mutually-agreed discount to market prices. The two companies have also agreed to jointly develop 800 megawatt natural gas-fired power plants in Hungary and Slovakia with operations likely to expand to parts of southeastern Europe.
MOL has a buyback option for its 7% shares to be sold to CEZ.
OMV has a 20.2% stake in MOL and says its ambition to take over MOL is unaffected by the MOL-CEZ deal.