FBiH Government should not sell shares in Energopetrol until an audit of the company's assets is carried out

Croatian oil company INA has offered just over four million BAM for 33 percent of Energopetrol shares, which are owned by the FBiH Government and small shareholders. The offer expires on Sunday.

INA owns 67 percent of Energopetrol shares, 20 percent of the shares are owned by the FBiH Government, and 13 percent by small shareholders. The Croatian oil company is now offering to buy the remaining package of shares in the former BH oil giant, after which it would become the 100 percent owner of Energopetrol. 

INA is offering only 2.30 BAM per share for Energopetrol shares. That is 18.40 percent of the nominal value of an Energopetrol share. The nominal value of an Energopetrol share is around 12 BAM.

Simply put, for the 1,812,664 shares in Energopetrol owned by the FBiH Government and small shareholders, INA is offering only 4,169,127 BAM, instead of 21 million BAM, which would be realistic.

A high-positioned Patria source from Energopetrol claims that even the nominal value of 12 BAM per Energopetrol share is not realistic! The Government should first seek an audit of the valuation of Energopetrol's assets, and only then discuss the sale.

- If we were to carry out an audit of the value of Energopetrol's assets, we would see that the company's assets are valued several times less than their actual value. If we knew the real value of Energopetrol's assets, the share price would also increase significantly. Then a potential sale of the Government's shares in Energopetrol would make some sense – explains this source.

- Even if INA raises its offer by a few marks per share, the Government should not agree to it – warns this high-positioned source from Energopetrol.

There are many unknowns regarding INA's role in the BH market. The INA-MOL consortium recapitalized Energopetrol in 2006, and already in 2009, the Financial Police submitted a report to the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office about criminal acts committed during the recapitalization.

The contract signed between the FBiH Government and the Croatian-Hungarian consortium INA-MOL was not respected from the beginning.

The consortium did not invest the money it was contractually obligated to invest in Energopetrol. Instead of investments, the Croatian-Hungarian consortium burdened the once strongest BH oil company with new debts.

Energopetrol's debts have now grown to around 115 million BAM above the company's capital value.

The Croatian oil company took over 33.5 percent ownership in Energopetrol from its Hungarian partner MOL in mid-July. After that, it officially became the majority owner of Energopetrol and the largest single distributor of oil derivatives in BiH with 101 retail gas stations. 

Interestingly, INA bought the shares from MOL off the stock exchange with the help of a Sarajevo brokerage house for just over half a million BAM. MOL paid 36 million BAM for 33.5 percent ownership in Energopetrol in 2006, and now sold those shares for just over 500,000 BAM.

Federal Television reported last week that former presidents of INA's Management Board, Tomislav Dragičević, and Hungarian MOL's Zolt Hernadi are under investigation by the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office due to suspicions regarding the legality of the Energopetrol privatization process.