BUDAPEST, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - A merger between Austrian oil giant OMV and its Hungarian counterpart MOL would give the Austrians an unacceptable monopoly that Brussels could never agree to, MOL's chief executive said Wednesday.

'If OMV and MOL were to merge, the new company would hold such a monopoly in Hungary, Slovakia and Austria, that it would never get a green light from the European competition authorities,' CEO Gyorgy Mosonyi told reporters in Budapest.

BUDAPEST, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Politics 'should stay out of' a hostile takeover bid by Austrian oil group OMV of Hungary's rival MOL, Austria's Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said here Thursday.

OMV launched a 14-billion-euro (19.8-billion-dollar) takeover offer last month in a bid to create a central European powerhouse, but the move was swiftly rejected by the Hungarian government and the company's management.

The unfriendly approach has raised diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

BUDAPEST, Oct 8, 2007 (AFP) - Hungarian lawmakers approved on Monday a law aimed at shielding national oil and gas firm MOL from a hostile takeover bid by Austria's largest power group OMV.

OMV launched a 14-billion-euro (19.8 billion dollar) hostile takeover offer for MOL last month in a bid to create a central European powerhouse, but the move was swiftly rejected by the Hungarian government and the company's management.

Hungary's efforts to keep OMV at bay have rekindled the prospect of protectionism between EU member states in the key energy sector.

BUDPAPEST, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - The Hungarian government is confident that a draft law aimed at shielding oil firm MOL from hostile takeover by Austria's OMV is consistent with European law, government spokesman David Daroczi told AFP on Friday.

The European Commission in Brussels threatened Hungary this week with legal action over a planned law to block foreign takeovers.

But Budapest has done its homework very carefully on the matter, Daroczi insisted.

BRUSSELS, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - The European Commission threatened Hungary this week with legal action over a planned law to block foreign takeovers, a spokesman said Friday.

Budapest has made no secret of its opposition to Austrian state-controlled energy group OMV's plans, announced last month, to tak eover Hungarian rival MOL and Hungary's parliament is due to consider a new law that could block such deals.

VIENNA, Oct 1, 2007 (AFP) - Austrian Economy Minister Martin Bartenstein and shareholders in Hungarian oil group MOL all turned up the pressure Monday on Hungarian oil group MOL to accept a multi-billion-euro tie-up with its Austrian counterpart OMV.

In an interview published in the Financial Times Deutschland, Bartenstein urged MOL to drop its resistance to a deal and content itself with a blocking minority in the merged group instead.

VIENNA, Sept 25, 2007 (AFP) - Austrian oil group OMV announced a takeover offer Tuesday for Hungarian counterpart MOL aimed at creating a central European powerhouse, but its hostile approach ran into immediate resistance.

State-controlled OMV said it was ready to pay 128 euros per share in cash to MOL shareholders, valuing the group at 14 billion euros (19 billion dollars) according to an AFP estimate.

VIENNA, Sept 25, 2007 (AFP) - Austrian oil and gas company OMV launched a hostile takeover bid on Tuesday for Hungarian counterpart MOL, valuing the group at 14 billion euros (19 billion dollars) according to an AFP estimate.

The deal was immediately rejected by the Hungarian government and is likely to become a major political issue given opposition in Hungary to foreign takeovers in the strategic energy sector.

BUDAPEST, Aug 31, 2007 (AFP) - The Hungarian justice ministry proposed on Friday a draft bill to protect strategic energy groups from hostile takeovers, a move that could shield the oil company MOL from Austrian rival OMV.

The bill, published on the justice ministry's website, comes after Austria's state controlled energy company announced on June 25 that it had raised its stake in MOL from 10 percent to 18.6 percent and wanted to have 'friendly' negotiations on strengthening ties between the two firms.

PRAGUE, Aug 30, 2007 (AFP) - Czech electricity giant CEZ and Hungarian oil and gas group MOL are seeking to form a major energy partnership aimed at boosting their businesses in Central and Eastern Europe with the possibility that CEZ will buy up to a 10.0 percent of MOL, CEZ said on Thursday.

The companies have signed a deal covering 'the establishment of a strategic alliance,' CEZ confirmed. 'To strengthen that strategic alliance, CEZ is considering the possibility of a capital entry into MOL by the purchase of up to a 10.0 percent stake in the company from it,' it added.

PRAGUE, Aug 30, 2007 (AFP) - Czech electricity giant CEZ and the Hungarian oil and gas group MOL are to form a major energy partnership aimed at boosting their businesses in Central and Eastern Europe, Czech media reported Thursday.

The companies are poised to sign a cooperation deal, the first fruits of which would be the construction of two gas-fired power plants, one in Hungary and the other Slovakia, with a total capacity of 800 MW, according to the online version of the Czech business magazine, euro.

BUDAPEST, July 31, 2007 (AFP) - The Hungarian oil and gas group MOL said Tuesday it had acquired Italian energy retailing company IES.

'MOL on July 30 signed an agreement to purchase 100 percent of the Italian group IES, which specialises in retailing and refining oil,' MOL said in statement.

It added that the price of the transaction would not be disclosed until after the deal had received the backing of competition authorities.

IES, which markets oil products, has a network of 165 service stations and employs 600 people.