15:00
[Tuesday 28th August, 2001]
LUKoil interest in Hellenic Petroleum
ATHENS, Greece - Russia's largest oil producer, Lukoil, and the Latsis
Group expressed joint interest Monday for a 30 percent stake in Hellenic
Petroleum, Greece's largest refiner.
Yukos Oil, Russia's second biggest oil company, also expressed interest,
one of the advisers to the sale said, but did not announce how large a stake
it was looking at.
In a joint announcement, Lukoil and the Luxembourg-based Latsis Group,
owned by Greece's Latsis family, said they would set up a joint venture to
acquire the stake. Paneuropean Oil and Holdings SA, a member of the
Latsis Groups, would hold 33 percent in the venture and Lukoil the
remainder.
State-run Hellenic Petroleum is Greece's largest refinery group. The
government has said it plans to reduce its stake in Hellenic Petroleum from
67 percent to as low as 35 percent. Lukoil and Latsis did not say how much
they would be willing to offer for the stake. The 30 percent stake would
represent about 72 million shares in Hellenic Petroleum which closed
Monday at 7.16 euros (dlrs 6.51) on the Athens Stock Exchange.
State advisers said they had received three expressions of nonbinding
interest in the company by Monday, the deadline. The third had already
been made by Austria's OMV AG.
The advisers are Greece's National Investment Bank for Industrial
Development, The National Bank of Greece and UBS.
The Latsis Group is a majority shareholder in Petrola Hellas, the country's
third largest refinery operation with 25 percent of the country's capacity.
The two companies expressed their confidence that they can meet the
requirements set by the state for the sale of a stake in Hellenic Petroleum,
and in their announcement said they can they can contribute to the
company's expansion plans.
Key ongoing projects for Hellenic Petroleum in 2001 include the
construction of a pipeline between the company's refinery near Skopje,
Macedonia, and the northern Greek port of Thessaloniki and hydrocarbon
exploration in western Greece. /The Associated Press/
04:25
fred |
