The Hungarian government is negotiating with the Russian company Surgutneftegaz to acquire a 21 percent stake in the oil group MOL, which it could finance by issuing government bonds, Hungarian media report.
The Budapest business daily Napi Gazdasag reported late last week, citing an unnamed source, that the previous Hungarian socialist government was close to reaching an agreement with Surgut, which reportedly sought 1.5 billion euros for its stake in MOL. In May, the daily Nepszabadsag reported that the new Hungarian government plans to acquire the stake in MOL held by Surgut. Napi Gazdasag reported on Friday that according to ‘unconfirmed information’ the new Hungarian government is negotiating with Surgut for a similar price, amounting to 1.6 billion euros, and that it could finance the purchase by issuing an additional tranche of government bonds. MOL declined to comment on these reports. Peter Szijjarto, spokesman for Prime Minister Viktor Orban, stated that he could not comment as he has no information. The Russian energy giant purchased a fifth of Hungary’s largest company by revenue from the Austrian MOL last year, unsettling the company and the then Hungarian socialist government. (H)
