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"Politics should stay out of" OMV-MOL buyout saga: Austrian FM

BUDAPEST
Petroleumworld.com 10 12 07

Politics "should stay out of" a hostile takeover bid by Austrian oil group OMV of Hungary's rival MOL, Austria's Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said here Thursday.

OMV launched a 14-billion-euro (19.8-billion-dollar) takeover offer last month in a bid to create a central European powerhouse, but the move was swiftly rejected by the Hungarian government and the company's management.

The unfriendly approach has raised diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
"What kind of form cooperation takes place between companies is a matter for the company management and shareholders. Politics should stay out of this," Plassnik said in a press conference with her Hungarian counterpart Kinga Goncz.

But the Hungarian government has pointed to OMV's ownership structure -- in which the Austrian state is the dominant shareholder -- as the main reason for it objecting to the takeover of the fully privatised Hungarian oil firm.

On Monday, the Hungarian parliament passed a law aimed at shielding "strategic companies" from the point of view of national interest in the energy and water-related sectors.

The law has been dubbed "Lex Mol" as it was essentially drawn up to prevent MOL from falling into OMV's hands.

The European Commission is examining whether the law violates EU standards of ensuring unfettered cross-border investments in the bloc.

Story by AFP 11 1341 GMT 10 07

Copyright© 2007 Petroleumworld. All rights reserved.

 

 

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