Court decision "irrelevant", media takeover will happen, says PKN Orlen CEO

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The CEO of Poland's state-run oil refiner PKN Orlen has dismissed as "irrelevant" the decision by a Warsaw court to suspend the company's takeover of local media group Polska Press, adding that "all available means" would be used to complete the deal.

The acquisition deal is being described by critics and opposition parties as being part of the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party's attempts to assert political control over more of the country's media, and that the deal threatens press freedom. While the state only holds a 27.5% stake in PKN Orlen, the company is under de facto government control.

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On Monday, the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection suspended the deal's approval given by Poland's competition authority UOKiK, following a successful appeal from Adam Bodnar, the Human Right's Ombudsman and a prominent critic of the government.

PiS policymakers have long held that foreign-owned media companies exercise too much influence in Poland, though PKN Orlen maintains that the acquisition was purely a business deal.

"The shares in Polska Press were acquired effectively on March 1, 2021, i.e. before the court issued the decision. Therefore, the court's decision is irrelevant and does not affect our actions or the effectiveness of the acquisition of this entity," said PKN CEO Daniel Obajtek in a tweet yesterday.

Shortly after, he tweeted again adding: "The court's decision does not restrict PKN Orlen from exercising ownership rights from shares in Polska Press."

The court published its ruling on the UOKiK website yesterday, saying that the decision to suspend the deal was in light of a lack of clarity regarding how much the deal would limit competition.

It added that dismissing the ombudsman's appeal would lead to the company carrying out a decision that is not yet final, because it is still being appealed by a regulatory body - a situation "which should not take place in a democratic state of law".

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UOKiK described the decision as being a "disturbing precedent", adding that it would urge the court to accelerate its final ruling on the appeal.

"We are currently analysing further legal steps, including the possibility of revoking the court’s

decision," said UOKiK in a statement.

However, Bodnar argued that the interim decision to suspend was final and an appeal was not possible.

PKN Orlen first announced its plans to acquire the media group in December last year. According to its website, Polska Press publishes 20 regional dailies, around 100 weeklies, a number of magazines and a free city newspaper.

The deal is the latest on a list of merger and acquisition bids by the oil refiner under Obajtek's leadership, who has been publicly lauded by PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski. 

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