PKN Orlen says talks on sale of Lotos assets not finalised yet

GDANSK (Reuters) – Poland’s top energy group PKN Orlen denied a media report it had picked buyers for assets of Grupa Lotos it is required to sell to win EU approval for its domestic rival’s takeover.

In July 2020, the European Commission granted Poland’s biggest oil refiner and fuel retailer a conditional approval for the takeover in return for its commitment to sell some Lotos’ assets, including a 30% stake in its Gdansk refinery, to address competition concerns. The EU has later extended the deadline for the concluding sale of the assets to Jan. 14, 2022.

“We would like to inform that negotiations with partners for remedial measures in connection with the takeover of Grupa Lotos by PKN Orlen have not been finalised,” PKN’s spokesperson Joanna Zakrzewska wrote on Twitter. “Therefore, media reports on the selection of potential partners are only speculation.”

Earlier on Sunday, Polish private radio station, Radio Zet, said that PKN Orlen would announce who will buy some of the Lotos assets this week.

(Reporting by Anna Banacka; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)