By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, July 23 -- Austria's OMV AG has signed a contract to acqure 51% of the state-owned Romanian oil company, Petrom SA, through a combined direct purchase of 33.34% interest and a simultaneous increase in Petrom's stock.
The purchase price for 33.34% was 669 million euro. Petrom's increased stock holding will cost up to 855 million euro. The deal was announced in the spring, but no transaction value was released at that time (OGJ Online, Apr. 26, 2004).
Petrom is the largest oil company in Romania, with production of 5.8 million tones of crude and 6.1 billion cu m of gas in 2002. It also has two refineries with a combined annual capacity of 8 million tonnes and a network of 690 retail stations across the country.
OMV has been active in Romania for 5 years through its subsidiary SC OMV Romania Mineraloel SRL and has a 25.1% stake in the Rompetrol Group NV, the biggest private oil company in Romania.