In December 2005, in competition with Credit Suisse First Boston, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and CAIB Corporate Finance, Raiffeisen Investment AG and Merrill Lynch International were selected by the Serbian Government as advisers for the privatisation of its oil monopoly Naftna Industrija Srbije a.d. ("NIS").
NIS is a closed joint stock company operating in three core assets divisions.
NIS – Naftagas (Exploration & Production) is the only exploration and production company operating in Serbia with a production of around 710.000 tons in 2005.
NIS – Petrol (Refining & Marketing) comprises the two refineries Novi Sad and Pancevo with a total capacity of 7.3 million tons and the two wholesale and retail networks NIS-NAP and NIS-Jugopetrol. In 2005, NIS had a combined market share of 72% in the domestic oil products wholesale and retail markets.
NIS – TNG (LPG Transport & Marketing) is engaged in the transport, handling, bottling, storage, and marketing of LPG. In 2005, the sales of LPG were 170.000 tons, in which NIS-TNG had a market share of 37%.
The tender for privatization is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter of this year.
The privatization of NIS is a high profile transaction and has already attracted interest from leading regional players, such as OMV (Austria), Lukoil (Russia), MOL (Hungary), Hellenic Petroleum (Greece), PKN Orlen (Poland).
The forthcoming privatization of NIS is also seen as the precursor for a number of forthcoming transactions, including electricity companies, railway companies and the national air carrier.