Hungary’s MOL has agreed to purchase a majority holding in Serbia’s national oil company NIS from its Russian shareholders for up to €1 billion, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday.
The Hungarian firm confirmed on January 19 that it had signed a binding contract to buy the 56.16% stake in NIS that is currently owned by Gazprom Neft and Gazprom, although MOL did not make the financial terms public at the time of that announcement.
Speaking in a live broadcast on Belgrade-based Blic TV, President Vucic provided more detail on the potential price, saying that his understanding was that the sum for the 56% stake ranged between €900 million and €1 billion.
"As far as I understood, it (the price) was between 900 million and a billion (euros) for the 56% stake," Vucic said.
The transaction is subject to regulatory clearance from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The Russian sellers were given a deadline of March 24 to divest their ownership after the United States placed NIS under sanctions in October as part of measures aimed at Russia’s energy sector related to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Vucic also said that Serbia had been willing to pay Gazprom and Gazprom Neft double the price that MOL agreed to, but he declined to explain why a bilateral Serbian purchase did not proceed, warning that further detail could "jeopardize Serbian interests."
At present, the transaction remains contingent on OFAC approval and the compliance of the Russian companies with the divestment timetable set by U.S. sanctions. The public statements from MOL confirm the binding nature of the acquisition agreement, while the Serbian presidency has supplied the reported price range and context for the failed alternative offer from Serbia.
No additional financial details were released by MOL when it announced the January 19 agreement, and no further commentary was provided by the Russian owners in the information available.