MOL expands influence with acquisition of Budapest University of Technology and Economics – BME operator đŸ”„
Hungarian oil and gas company MOL has made a HUF 50bn purchase offer for state-owned BME FenntartĂ³, the operator of Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), Culture and Innovation Minister BalĂ¡zs HankĂ³ said at the ceremonial senate session of the university on Saturday.
Winning pair: MOL and Budapest University of Technology and Economics -BME
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
The Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) is currently one of the largest and most prestigious universities in Hungary, especially renowned for its engineering and economics programs.
In the 2024 HVG Diploma ranking (a leading national university ranking), BME was ranked as the number one university in Hungary, ahead of institutions like Eötvös LorĂ¡nd University (ELTE) and the University of Szeged (SZTE).
Internationally, in the QS Europe 2024 ranking, BME ranked 247th in Europe and 12th in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) region. In engineering disciplines, BME consistently ranks among the top 300 universities in the world.
MOL
The MOL Group remains Hungary’s largest and most influential company by revenue and regional influence. As of 2024, MOL Group is the largest company in Hungary. It consistently ranks at the top in terms of revenue and international presence.
According to the Forbes Global 2000, MOL reported:
- USD 25.3 billion in revenue
- USD 1.3 billion in profit
- USD 22.1 billion in assets
- USD 5.5 billion in market value
MOL also ranked third in the Coface CEE Top 500, making it one of the most prominent companies in Central and Eastern Europe.
Purchase offer
The minister said this would not be a foundation operating model, the university’s students can continue to participate in Erasmus programs, and researchers in the Horizon Europe program. The institution’s real estate and assets will remain under the university’s management, he added. HankĂ³ said the renewal of higher education serves the interests of the Hungarian nation, the economy and young people. The aim is to have a Hungarian university among the best in Europe and the top 100 in the world by 2030, and for Hungary to be among the ten most innovative countries in Europe.
BME said in a statement that a general higher education performance framework agreement and contract between BME FenntartĂ³ and the ministry sets out the university’s performance commitments that ensure the institution’s state funding until 2030. According to the agreement, the number of qualified lecturers and researchers, the income from R+D and experts, direct EU funds and domestic tenders, as well as the number of qualified publications and citations must be increased.
HankĂ³ noted that if the commitments are fulfilled, the university’s budget could increase from last year’s HUF 20bn to HUF 30bn this year.
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UPDATE – MOL takeover of uni operator could enhance involvement in research
MTI-ECONEWS – MOL’s offer to buy the operator of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) from the state paves the way for enhancing the oil and gas company’s involvement in research programmes, the state secretary for higher education told public media on Tuesday.
Veronika Varga-Bajusz said the existing cooperation between MOL and BME would provide a foundation to step up partnerships in R+D+I programmes. She added that MOL would also benefit from the aspect of recruitment.
Varga-Bajusz said the number of state scholarship spots at the university would not change if MOL took over BME’s operator, but enrollment in technical and engineering subjects as well as the natural sciences could grow. She added that the introduction of performance-based financing at BME, similar to that at other foundation-run universities in Hungary, could add HUF 10bn a year to the school’s resources.
Varga-Bajusz acknowledged the importance to the university community of preventing any impact to the Erasmus and Horizon scholarship programmes of the change of model at BME.