The key facts
- The agreement to sell the controlling stake in NIS to Hungary's MOL has been signed, Sinisa Mali said
- The deal concerns the 56.15% stake owned by Gazprom Neft
- Approvals from the antitrust authorities of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and US approval are required
Signing of the agreement
The agreement to sell the controlling stake in the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS) to the Hungarian oil and gas company MOL has been signed. Serbia's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali announced this in an interview with the Bloomberg Adria news agency. NIS was placed on the US sanctions list.
What remains to complete the deal
According to Mali, what remains is to obtain approval from the antitrust commissions of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The deal concerns the sale of the controlling stake of 56.15% of shares owned by Gazprom Neft. In addition, the sale must be approved by the US authorities.
Context of the sanctions
The situation around the largest energy company in the region escalated after the introduction of US sanctions against the Russian-Serbian enterprise. On September 24, NIS officially requested that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury extend its license to operate. On September 30, the company received a new special license to operate until October 31, 2026. Earlier, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic discussed the sanctions against NIS with Vladimir Putin.
