Reuters: Unknown Serbian group bids EUR 2 billion for Russian stake in NIS

A recently formed Serbian company has offered 2 billion euros (USD 2.35 billion) to Russia’s Gazprom Neft and Gazprom for their combined 56.1% stake in NIS, which operates Serbia’s only oil refinery, its owner Ranko Mimovic said, adding that the bid had been “generally accepted” by the Russian owners of NIS, Reuters reports.

The bid by KFT Senator Treasury G.T.7 Two LLC (Senator), which was founded last summer, represents a challenge to Hungary’s MOL, which is trying to buy a majority stake in NIS, which has been under U.S. sanctions since October last year, the news agency writes.

What does Senator say about the NIS acquisition?

Senator said it began proceedings before OFAC on October 30 to secure a license for the acquisition of a majority stake in NIS, and it informed Gazprom Neft about its plans on November 4.

OFAC’s website shows the request is “pending management review.”

Mimovic also said he informed the office of Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic about ⁠his plans on April 21. Vucic’s office did not reply to a request for comment from Reuters.

Gazprom Neft’s response

An hour after Reuters published this news, the Russian agency Intefax reported Gazprom Neft’s press release concerning the information about the new bidder for NIS’s capital.

– Gazprom Neft is in the active stage of preparing the transaction to sell its stake in NIS to the Hungarian company MOL. The necessary corporate and regulatory procedures are currently being carried out. The company is not conducting any other negotiations on this matter – Gazprom Neft said.

MOL Group announced on January 19 that it had signed a binding Heads of Agreement with Gazprom Neft to acquire its 56.15% stake in NIS.

The deadline for completing the acquisition negotiations approved by MOL by the U.S. OFAC expires on May 22.

KFT SENATOR TREASURY G.T.7. DVA DOO SUBOTICA

NIS a.d. Novi Sad

MOL Serbia d.o.o. Beograd

MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Budapest

KFT Senator Treasury GT7 Two LLC

Gazprom Neft

Gazpromu

NIS

OFAC

MOL

Ranko Mimović