PKN Orlen Takes Control of Unipetrol
Poland’s PKN Orlen has taken 100% ownership of Czech refiner and petrochemicals producer Unipetrol with effect from Oct. 1 following the completion of a squeeze-out of remaining shareholders.
Unipetrol has also been delisted from the Prague Stock Exchange as of Sept. 26.
The squeeze-out was approved by shareholders at a meeting on Aug. 28. Orlen bought the Czech state’s 63% share in Unipetrol in 2004. It then raised its stake to 94.03% in February following a voluntary tender offer to minority shareholders.
Unipetrol has a naphtha cracker in Litvinov producing 544,000 t/y ethylene as well as downstream plants for PP, PE. It also has a complex in Spolana where it produces PVC, caprolactam, industrial fertilizers and inorganic compounds.
Orlen announced in June its largest petrochemical investment program on record, amounting to $2.3 billion. The company said the investment would enable deeper integration of its refining and petrochemical segments and further diversify its revenue sources.
