Dogan resumes talks to transfer shares to OMV

Dogan Holding has decided to restart negotiations with Austrian oil company OMV Aktiengesellschaft to sell its stake in Turkey's leading fuel distributor Petrol Ofisi, negotiations it called off last year.



Dogan, a Turkish conglomerate with interests spanning from media to energy, sold 34 percent of its shares in Petrol Ofisi to Austria's OMV in 2006 for $1.1 billion. Doğan currently owns 54.17 percent of the company while OMV enjoys 41.8 percent. The rest is open to public trade. The two companies are jointly running the retailer. In a statement to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) of the İstanbul Stock Exchange (İMKB) on Wednesday evening, Doğan Holding said it had decided to restart talks on selling all of its shares in the fuel distributor to the Austrian company. The statement noted that negotiations were suspended in November 2009. Doğan Holding's shares were up by 2.86 percent as of 11:45 a.m., at TL 1.08, whereas Petrol Ofisi shares were closed to trading after they hit the ceiling by rising 9.6 percent to TL 6.85. Doğan is troubled by a heavy multibillion-lira fine stemming from tax irregularities. Last week the holding said it was also mulling over selling its companies in the media sector.CIHAN