Reuters: Recently founded Serbian company offers two billion euros to Russian companies for a stake in NIS

A recently established Serbian company has offered two billion euros to Russian companies Gazprom Neft and Gazprom for their joint 56,1 percent stake in the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS), which operates the only oil refinery in Serbia, its owner Ranko Mimović said, adding that the offer was "accepted in principle" by NIS's Russian owners.

The offer from KFT Senator Treasury GT7 Two LLC (Senator), which was founded last summer, poses a challenge to MOL, which is trying to buy a majority stake in NIS, which has been under US sanctions since October last year, Reuters reports.

The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on NIS as part of broader measures targeting the Russian energy sector due to the war in Ukraine, according to Reuters.

It demanded the alienation of NIS shares owned by Gazprom Neft and Gazprom, its Russian majority owners.

Gazprom Neft announced that it is preparing to sell its stake in NIS to a Hungarian company.

"Gazprom Neft is actively preparing the sale of its stake in NIS to the Hungarian company MOL. The necessary corporate and regulatory procedures are underway. The company is not conducting any other negotiations on this issue," the company said in an emailed statement.

Gazprom and NIS did not immediately respond to emailed requests from Reuters.

Senator announced that it had filed a petition with OFAC on October 30 to obtain permission to acquire a majority stake in NIS, and that it had notified Gazprom Neft of its plans on November 4. The OFAC website states that the request is "under review by management."

Gazprom has an 11,3 percent stake in NIS, while Gazprom Neft owns 44,9 percent. The Serbian government has 29,9 percent, while the rest is held by small shareholders and employees.

MOL signed an agreement on January 19 to purchase Gazprom Neft's and Gazprom's joint stake in NIS. OFAC has given the Russian companies until May 22 to complete the sale. Serbia also wants to increase its stake by an additional five percent.

Mimović also said that on April 21, he informed the cabinet of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić about his plans.

Vučić's office did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.

On January 26, Vučić said that MOL was ready to pay one billion euros for a majority stake in NIS.