Lukoil-Latsis only bid for ELPE
The consortium of Russian oil group Lukoil and Greece’s Latsis Group submitted a binding bid for a 23-percent stake in oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum (ELPE) yesterday, the last day of the contest, as the other contender, OMV of Austria, dropped out of the race. The government said it plans to open the envelope containing the bid on Monday, after which it will announce its decision. With just one bid for Hellenic Petroleum, there are doubts as to whether it will nullify the contest or relaunch the process. The Latsis Group which owns Petrola, the third largest oil refiner in Greece, yesterday declined to give further details of its offer. The consortium, however, had previously said a link-up with Hellenic Petroleum would facilitate Greece’s objective of becoming the energy hub for Southeastern Europe and the Balkans. Furthermore, the Greek company would have access to Lukoil’s oil reserves in the Caspian and its exploration and production expertise. On its part, Lukoil has sought to expand its downstream activities in central and southern Europe. A stake in Hellenic Petroleum is expected to strengthen the Russian group’s presence in the Balkans. It already has refineries in Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria. Austrian oil and gas group OMV decided not to put in a bid for Hellenic Petroleum because «in its current form, we believe that the envisaged transaction structure would not deliver the financial returns requested by OMV,» Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer, chief executive, was quoted as saying by Reuters. OMV last year expressed its interest in acquiring a minority stake in Hellenic Petroleum, saying it was willing to help the Greek company develop its downstream activities. Its interest subsequently cooled off as it looked into acquisitions in Poland and Eastern Europe. Yukos, the second largest Russian oil group, which showed an initial interest in Hellenic Petroleum, dropped out of the bidding for the Greek company in February in order to focus on central European operations. Hellenic Petroleum has a 57-percent share of the local oil product market. Last month, it announced plans to jointly set up a power generation plant in Thessaloniki with Belgian energy company Tractebel and local construction firm Aegek, underscoring its diversification strategy. The State holds a 58-percent stake in the oil refiner. Hellenic Petroleum stock rose by 1.06 percent yesterday to 5.72 euros, while Petrola’s jump was even more impressive, up 2.34 percent compared with a rise of 4.26 percent the previous day.
