Will Mol revise the highest offered price for Ina’s shares?

On the Zagreb Stock Exchange, analysts today expect stagnation in stock prices, pointing to dissatisfaction among small and large institutional investors with the offered price by Mol for the acquisition of Ina. Investors expect a higher price for the acquisition of Ina’s shares, as evidenced by its last price of 2,802 kuna yesterday.

All eight analysts from brokerage firms who participated in Hina’s survey expect a continuation of stagnation in the Crobex index today. The Crobex index weakened by 0.11 percent yesterday, to 3,491 points. Regular trading in shares reached nearly 52 million kuna."Today we could record somewhat higher trading, primarily due to investors’ focus on Ina’s shares," says Tomislav Kovalisko, head of brokerage operations and investment advisor at Volksbank. He adds that it is still too early to say whether Mol’s public offer to acquire 31 percent of Ina’s shares from small shareholders will be successful, but the offered price of 2,800 kuna does not satisfy market participants.

"I expect a continuation of stagnation in the market, except in the case of a reversal in investor sentiment regarding Ina’s shares. Any potential gains on that stock could pull the entire exchange higher," says Goran Vorkapić, broker and investment advisor at the brokerage firm To One. He adds that investors expect a higher price for the acquisition of Ina’s shares, as evidenced by its last price of 2,802 kuna yesterday. During yesterday, it ranged from 2,795 to 2,813.99 kuna.

Vorkapić does not rule out the possibility that Mol may revise its offered price for Ina’s shares upwards. Austrian OMV, on the other hand, announced yesterday that it remains interested in Ina, should it receive an invitation to participate in the privatization, and that it is not interested in shares owned by small shareholders."OMV has now definitely passed the ball to the Croatian Government as the largest shareholder in Ina. It should clarify whether it wants another bidder for Ina at all. Without purchasing the state stake, the Austrian company cannot reach a 51 percent ownership stake. And I doubt anyone would enter the ownership structure of a company without it being defined whether they can achieve a majority stake or not," says Vorkapić.

Along with the usual focus of investors on the most liquid issues, the shares of Dioki could also attract greater interest. Namely, the Commission for the evaluation of the study on the selection of the location for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal proposed yesterday to the Government working group the DINA location on the island of Krk as potentially the best. Before starting the investment, a conceptual design of the terminal must be developed, research must be conducted, and an environmental impact assessment for the specific location must be carried out, the Government announced.

Among today’s business events, the press conference of Konzum stands out, where it will announce price reductions in all its stores. As explained by the company, amid the global increase in basic living costs, it will invest in price reductions, thus taking on part of the inflation burden from its consumers. (H)