Business | Oil & Gas
OMV files EU notification for MOL merger
Austrian oil and gas group OMV has filed a merger notification with the European Commission's competition arm about its planned merger with Hungary's MOL, prompting a fresh rebuff from MOL.
- Reuters
- Published: 01:39 February 2, 2008
Budapest: Austrian oil and gas group OMV has filed a merger notification with the European Commission's competition arm about its planned merger with Hungary's MOL, prompting a fresh rebuff from MOL.
Partly state-owned OMV, which already holds 20.2 per cent in MOL, has proposed a bid valuing its Hungarian target at $20 billion, but MOL has repeatedly and firmly rejected the bid, which it considers hostile.
On Friday, OMV said it had filed a formal merger notification with Brussels, and MOL rushed to put out a statement in which it said it hoped the European Commission would launch an inquiry as OMV's plan would seriously hurt competition. "MOL welcomes the opportunity for a thorough investigation by the European Commission of the significant anti-competitive effects which an OMV/MOL combination would have for the Central European region," it said.
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