Pemex saw bargain with Sacyr pact in Repsol

State-owned Mexican oil company Petróleos de México decided to increase its stake in Repsol YPF as part of a pact with Sacyr Vallehermoso because it saw an opportunity to make "concrete earnings" and have "influence in the strategic and operative decisions" in the leading Spanish oil firm at what it considered a derisory price.

Pemex is investing $1.6 billion (1.17 billion euros) to increase its stake in Repsol to 9.8 percent from 4.8 percent.

That forms part of an agreement with Spanish builder Sacyr, which is Repsol's biggest shareholder with a 20-percent stake, under which they will vote together on important decisions taken by the Spanish oil company's management board.

In a report drawn up by the Mexican company, Pemex estimates that a similar deal in an oil company with Repsol's size but with a less-fragmented shareholder structure would have cost it between six to 20 times more.

The firm cited names such as Hess Corp, EOG Resources, OMV, Reliance and BG Group as companies that would require an investment of between $10 and $30 billion to achieve the 50-percent stake it would require to exercise sufficient influence in the strategic decisions of a company comparable to Repsol.

With opinion polls pointing to a comfortable victory for the opposition Popular Party in Spain's general elections on November 20, in August Pemex found an ideal partner in Sacyr, whose chairman, Luis del Rivero, has been at odds with Repsol's chairman, Antonio Brufau. In the 30 years it has been a Repsol shareholder, Pemex has been a stable and undemanding partner.

Sacyr, which has been a shareholder in Respol since 2006, previously tried to secure control of the oil firm with Russia's Lukoil, India's Essar and China's Sinopec.