(updates with comment from OMV)
BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial) - The European Commission said it has suspended
its inquiry into the proposed acquisition by the Austrian oil and gas group OMV
AG. of Hungarian peer MOL, pending further information from one or both of the
parties.
A commission press officer told Thomson Financial News that the EU executive
had requested information from the parties involved in the case but had not
received it on time.
"Once we receive it, we can start the clock (on the inquiry) again," the
press officer said.
The press officer did not specify which party was responsible for the
pending information.
OMV will provide the additional information requested by the commission as
quickly as possible, Thomas Huemer, a spokesman for the Austrian oil and gas
group told Thomson Financial News.
"Such 'stopping the clock' announcements are rather common events in similar
inquiries the commission has carried out," Huemer said.
The commission's deadline to rule on the proposed deal was July 22.
It opened a detailed investigation into the transaction in March, as it
feared the takeover would "affect several strategically important energy
markets".
OMV is the incumbent Austrian oil and gas company, owning the only refinery
in Austria (Schwechat) and two refineries in Bavaria. It has a controlling
interest in Petrom (Romania), which owns refineries in Pitesti and Ploesti.
MOL is the incumbent integrated oil and gas group in Hungary. MOL owns
Slovnaft, which operates the only Slovakian refinery and has a 25 pct interest
in the Croatian oil company, INA. MOL recently also bought the Italian company
IES (Italiana Energia e Servizi SpA.) which has a refinery in Mantova.
nina.chestney@thomsonreuters.com
nc/slm/pkl/slm
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