Hungarian MVM CEO calms Romanian politicians concerning grand acquisition potentially involving Russian gas

The Hungarian MVM would like to buy 68% of the shares of the German E.ON Energie Romania. However, the Romanian political elite was afraid that the Hungarians would bring Russian gas to the country and make it dependent on Russia. The CEO of MVM tries to calm nerves while the Romanian political elite threatens to involve even the secret services to probe the deal. Mr Károly Mátrai says local gas is the cheapest solution, so there is no need to pump large amounts of Russian gas to Romania.

According to Portfólió, the Hungarian MVM can become a majority owner of the Romanian subsidiary of German E.ON, but only if they can acquire all the necessary permits and documents. And that does not seem easy. As we wrote HERE, the Romanian government seems committed to probing the deal and examining all possibilities of Russian involvement.

Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja said last December, following an uproar, that the transaction was incomplete. The Romanian government also issued a new decree that authorised them to reject the deal after a thorough investigation. Burduja promised to conduct such a review on the matter, and, provided they find anything suspicious, block it. To calm citizens, he added that the critical infrastructure was not involved in the transaction.

It seems that MVM wants to close the business ASAP. Based on market information, the cost they offered, allegedly EUR 205 million, for 68% of the Romanian E.ON’s shares, is well over their market price. As a result, local companies like Romgaz, OMV Petrom or Hidroelectrica did not enter the competition.

Károly Mátrai, the CEO of the Hungarian state-owned MVM, told Portfólió in an interview that they supply their Czech portfolio with the help of Western gas sources, so they do not include Russian molecules. He added that they would not need to transfer Russian gas to Romania because the country has gas sources, so there is no need to bring water to the sea. However, the Russian gas is important to supply Hungary, he added.

Romanian politicians worry that if the MVM can buy the shares, they would supply Romanian consumers with Russian gas, making the country dependent on Moscow. CEO Mátrai said that it is a general rule that local resources are the cheapest, and that is true for natural gas. Since transferring Russian gas to Romania would cost a lot, they would like to supply their portfolio in Romania with local natural gas. Following a successful transaction, that portfolio would include 40% of the Romanian customers concerning gas and 10% concerning electricity.

Mr Mátrai hopes that they will get all permits, and he believes that they will be able to keep their schedule and finish the transaction in June-July.

Slovakia’s gas supply depends on Hungary

According to infostart.hu, the only option for Slovakia to purchase Russian gas is through TurkStream and Hungary. Vojtech Ferencz, the chairman of the board of directors of the SPP, said they would like to double the volume bought from April. He also said that Russian gas costs significantly less than other sources and highlighted that they had a valid contract with the Russian Gazprom.

Michal Lalík, the leader of the SPP’s trade division, told the press on Thursday that they would need alternative gas-buying routes because the capacity of the TurkStream is not enough. German and Czech routes could be a solution where SPP has booked capacities.

Read also:

• Hungary becomes regional distributor of Russian gas, generating windfall revenues – read more HERE
• Too good to be true? Russian Mere’s prices could shake up Hungary’s retail market – details in THIS article

Featured image: PM Orbán and PM Ciolacu in Budapest in 2024.