Slovak businessman Andrej Babiš has withdrawn from an attempt by his Agrofert firm to privatise a 63 per cent stake in the Czech state-owned Unipetrol company.
After winning a tender for the stake, Babiš said on Sunday that “the circumstances surrounding the privatisation have changed,” referring to recent flooding, a Czech recession, and complicated contracts with refineries that he says have reduced the value of Unipetrol.
The Czech FNM privatisation agency will now likely repeat the tender, in which the Unipetrol stake fetched 361 million euros.
Compiled by Tom Nicholson from press reports.
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
