By Margit Feher
BUDAPEST--The Hungarian government has signed a letter of intent
with the owners of the country's natural gas safety storage
facility MMBF Foldgaztarolo Zrt. on buying a stake in the firm,
resulting in Hungarian oil and gas company MOL Nyrt. (MOL.BU)
selling off its majority stake in MMBF, the Development Ministry
said Friday.
MOL holds a 72.5% stake in MMBF. Under the plan announced
Friday, MOL will sell a 51% stake to the Hungarian government and
sell its remaining 21.5% stake to MMBF's current minority holder
MSZKSZ. MSZKSZ is the Hungarian Carbohydrate Storage Association.
The Hungarian government holds a 24.6% stake in MOL.
The parties plan to sign the deal within 90 days, following the
necessary asset valuations, the ministry added.
The acquisition is aimed at strengthening public ownership in
energy management, which the government considers of strategic
importance, and to ensure stability in energy supply, the
government said in a decree ordering the purchase.
The deal ensures that the state can guarantee the lowest
possible price for households even in winter, allowing it to lower
utility prices, the ministry said. Most Hungarians use natural gas
for heating.
The acquisition will have no impact on Hungary's central
government budget as it will be done outside those accounts, the
ministry said in the statement. The deal also fits MOL's strategy
to clean its profile, it added.
Parliament, which is dominated by the governing Fidesz party,
amended legislation on national assets on Dec. 17, 2012 that the
natural gas safety storage facility may only be publicly owned.
MMBF is Hungary's safety storage facility with a capacity of 1.9
billion cubic meters of natural gas and a daily peak release of 25
million cubic meters. MMBF's revenue totaled EUR96.8 million
($125.1 million) last year, Hungarian state news agency MTI has
said.
Write to Margit Feher at margit.feher@dowjones.com