Hungarian oil company MOL has delivered the draft public takeover bid for shares in Slovakia’s largest crude oil refiner Slovnaft to the Financial Market Office (UFT) on Monday, UFT spokesman Marek Kacmar informed SITA. If the draft takeover bid is complete, the supervisory authority should reach a decision on it within seven working days from its date of delivery. If the UFT okays it, MOL will announce a public takeover bid for Slovnaft shares.

If the draft bid convenes the Securities Act, the UFT will reject it within seven days. If the draft is incomplete, the office can ask MOL to complete missing data within ten days at the latest. A new deadline is then set for the UFT to judge a completed bid. The UFT decision cannot be appealed.

MOL is obliged to announce a public takeover bid for Slovnaft shares since its share in all voting rights related to the company exceeded 66 percent after it acquired 31.6 percent of Slovnaft shares on March 27. Slovnaft shares changed hands in a direct off-market transaction on the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) on March 25 at SKK 1,383 and SKK 1,256. MOL acquired shares of the companies Slovintegra and Slovbena based on a contract signed in late November 2002. The Hungarian company controls 70.02 percent in Slovnaft, since it bought additional 2 percent in Slovnaft on the public market prior to this transaction.