INA-Industrija nafte has announced in today’s daily press and on its website the commencement of the sale process for the retail fuel business of the company Crobenz, which was one of the conditions set by the Competition Protection Agency (AZTN) when assessing the permissibility of the concentration of INA and MOL.
AZTN assessed in June this year that the concentration of INA and MOL was permissible on the condition that the company Crobenz is sold within nine months and with the restriction on the construction or leasing of gas stations on new sections of highways and on new highways. The advertisement published by INA in today’s press states that interested parties can obtain detailed information about the retail fuel business of Crobenz and the sales process, in the form of “initial information” and “instructions for the sales process” only after signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement. As a sign of serious interest, the advertisement states that potential buyers must submit a Letter of Intent by the end of business hours on November 20 of this year.
It must also include an “explicit statement” that three prerequisites have been met, which the potential buyer must satisfy. The prerequisites are that the potential buyer must possess and demonstrate appropriate expertise to maintain the existing business, must not be capital or personally connected with INA and MOL or their affiliated companies, and must have satisfactory financial resources. Among other things, the advertisement explicitly states that “under no circumstances is it allowed to contact or communicate, directly or indirectly, with directors, officers, employees, representatives, lawyers, advisors, or representatives of Crobenz, INA, and MOL regarding this process.”(H)
