June 29 (SeeNews) - Croatia's oil and gas company INA [ZSE:INA] said on Friday it will set up a data room for due diligence purposes and possible transactions related to its shareholders' structure.
The move was approved by the company's management board at the request of the Croatian government which holds 44.84% of INA's share capital, INA said in a Zagreb bourse filing.
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Earlier this week, local media reported that U.S.-headquarterd Castleton Commodities International (CCI) has sent a letter to the Croatian government expressing its interest in becoming a strategic partner to INA.
In the letter which Croatia's government received in March, CCI says it is ready to assist the government in its intention to repurchase the shares in INA held by Hungarian group MOL, TV news broadcaster N1 has reported.
Croatia's government said in April it has selected a consortium of Morgan Stanley, Intesa Sanpaolo Group and Privredna Banka Zagreb [ZSE:PBZ] to advise it on the possible repurchase of the stake in INA.
In 2017, Russia's state-owned oil giant Rosneft said it is interested in acquiring a stake in INA. The company's intention was met with criticism from the U.S., whose ambassador to Croatia, Robert Kohorst, told local news agency Hina that Russia is a disturbing factor in the region.
On Christmas Eve 2016, Croatia's prime minister Andrej Plenkovic announced the government's decision to buy MOL's stake in INA.
MOL is the biggest shareholder in INA with a 49.08% stake.