February 7 (SeeNews) - Hungarian oil and gas company MOL is considering the sale of some of its 53 filling stations in Slovenia in order to obtain the approval of the European Commission for the purchase of the local unit of Austria's OMV, Slovenian media reported.
"MOL does not rule out the possible sale of some of its assets as part of the transaction and will inform the public accordingly of all important events. The process is still ongoing, so we cannot disclose more detailed information," Slovenian daily Dnevnik quoted sources from MOL as saying on Monday.
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The takeover will benefit competitiveness and customers on the Slovenian market, as it will create stronger competition for the market leader.
In June 2022, the European Commission said it is opening a detailed inquiry into the acquisition of OMV Slovenia by MOL. The Commission had to make public its decision by October 28 but decided to postpone it due to concerns that the merger of the third and second largest fuel retailers in Slovenia after partially state-owned Petrol would result in the new entity holding a very large share of the local market, Dnevnik reported.
MOL, which is the top shareholder of Croatian oil and gas group INA, unveiled an agreement in 2021 to buy a 92.25% stake in OMV Slovenia at an enterprise value of 346 million euro ($371 million). INA, which at the time owned 7.75% of OMV Slovenia, is set to increase its stake to 33% after the deal. OMV Slovenia operates 119 fuel stations under the OMV, OMV Viva, Diskont, Avanti and EuroTruck brands and is also active in the wholesale supply of motor fuels, heating oil and bitumen.
($ = 0.93282 euro)