UPDATE:OMV:MOL Stock Sale Price Approximately Equals Buy Costs
March 30 2009 - 8:16AM
Dow Jones News
Austrian oil and gas company OMV AG (OMV.VI) said Monday the
sale of its 21.2% stake in Hungarian peer MOL Nyrt. (MOL.BU)
brought in just about enough to cover the initial costs of the
stake.
OMV sold the stake to Russian oil company OAO Surgutneftegas for
EUR1.4 billion, or 19,212 forints ($82.37) a share, compared with
an average purchase price paid by OMV of around HUF16,000 a
share.
According to a research note published by Wood & Co., the
transaction produced a one-off gain for OMV of EUR230 million, but
OMV spokesman Thomas Huemer refuted this calculation.
"It isn't correct; we stick to the message that the deal brought
in an amount equal to the total expenses we had in connection with
purchasing the stake," Huemer said.
The actual gain was influenced by a weakening of the Hungarian
forint against the euro by about 18%since the beginning of the
year, as well as various fees and costs connected with the
stake-building, Thomas Huemer said.
Still, "we are very pleased with the price we achieved,
considering the current market environment," Huemer said.
At 1121 GMT, OMV shares were up EUR0.7, or 2.8%, at EUR25, with
the overall Vienna ATX20 index down 1.2%.
Meanwhile, MOL's shares were up HUF875, or 8.8%, at HUF10,815
from Friday's close, with the benchmark BUX index up 0.6%.
Wood & Co. rated the deal as positive and also said it
should reduce OMV's estimated 2009 net debt to Ebitda to 0.66
times.
OMV had purchased the stake as part of a takeover attempt, which
it was forced to abandon in August 2008, as MOL's resistance and
the European Commission's conditions for a merger eventually became
insurmountable obstacles.
-By Flemming E. Hansen, Dow Jones Newswires; +43 1 513 69 22 10;
flemming.hansen@dowjones.com