Traders wary of Motor Oil expansion

Investors appear wary of the expansion of listed group Motor Oil into the domain of the media. The company’s stock, one of the most reliable and stable securities on the Greek stock market, started sliding on the day after the announcement of the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in broadcaster Alpha TV, shedding almost 20 percent of its value in just two days.

This slide is seen as the effect of concerns from traditional traders regarding the change to the group’s profile with unexpected investment moves that appear to have no relation to its main activity, oil refining, or the energy sector in general.

Furthermore, the entry into Alpha TV came just after a deal for the acquisition of the Investment Bank of Greece (IBG), another move that investors are finding hard to understand.

However, the management of Motor Oil has brushed off concerns and said that these moves are in line with plans to expand the group’s activities. It adds that entering the banking and the media sectors can create useful synergies for the group along with its recent expansion into the energy domain by entering the markets of natural gas and electricity retailing. It follows the group’s consolidation in fuel retailing too, after being dominant in refining.

Source: ekathimerini.com