MOL to Acquire Majority Ownership of Serbian NIS

The Hungarian oil and gas company MOL Plc. has notifies the market in a statement on the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange that MOL Group has signed a binding Heads of Agreement with Gazprom Neft to acquire its 56.15% stake in the Serbian Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) corporation.

Once the transaction is completed, MOL will assume significant shareholder responsibilities and control rights in the company operating Serbia’s only refinery, this way further strengthening its presence in the Central and Southeastern European energy market. Besides the oil refinery in Pančevo, NIS also has a retail network and holds an exploration and production portfolio.

The transaction, to be completed after the fulfilment of conditions set out in the Heads of Agreement including obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, can ensure the long-term, stable operation of the Pancevo refinery and the related business units, as well as the uninterrupted supply of the region’s energy markets.

“As a reliable regional energy provider, we would like to contribute to the development of Central and Southeastern Europe. We have maintained excellent professional cooperation with our Serbian partners for many years. MOL is committed to working together with the Serbian government to further strengthen the security of supply in Serbia and in the region. The energy sovereignty of landlocked countries requires the cooperation of strong local refineries that operate predictably and successfully and the involvement of strong partners. Therefore, the MOL Group is in negotiations with ADNOC, the national oil company of the United Arab Emirates, to join the owners of NIS as a minority shareholder, while retaining MOL's majority ownership and control. We are ready for the task and will continue discussions with our partners," Zsolt Hernádi, Chairman and CEO of MOL Group, is quoted in the statement.

The completion of the transaction requires, among others, the approval of OFAC (the United States of America’s Office of Foreign Assets Control) and other governmental and state approvals in Serbia.

The Heads of Agreement set out the key terms of the sale and purchase agreement, including the timeline for the due diligence of NIS and the application for regulatory approvals. The parties aim to sign the sales and purchase agreement by 31 March 2026.