Eni SpA bought the 16.1% holding from a unit of ConocoPhillips. The Italian company didn’t disclose the purchase price. “This acquisition is very positive and is part of Eni’s strategy of buying selective assets which reduces the risk of overpaying as could happen with a large purchase,” said Carmelo Pappalardo, an analyst with Rasbank in Milan. Eni previously owned 16.3% of the Czech refiner. The other shareholders are Royal Dutch Shell PLC with a 16.3% stake, and Unipetrol AS, which owns 51%. The controlling stake in Unipetrol is held by Poland’s PKN Orlen SA. Last Friday, Italian daily Il Sole-24 Ore reported, without citing sources, that the purchase deal is worth €500 million. ($671.7 million). Eni has been expanding its presence in central Europe, as it seeks to tap into the fast-growing economies of countries there.
Last month Eni said it is to acquire 102 gasoline stations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary from a unit of Exxon Mobil Corp. Eni’s CEO Paolo Scaroni declined to comment on the price paid, but said it was “much” less than €500 million. “The €500 million figure was expensive so if it paid less than that it is better,” Rasbank’s Pappalardo said. The CEO also said at a press conference in Rome following the company’s annual shareholder meeting that he wasn’t aware of the other shareholders in the refinery wanting to sell. In the event the other investors were willing to dispose of their stakes, Eni would be interested in buying them. (marketwatch.com)
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