Hungary's Mol in Croatian oil bid

Ina is involved in energy exploration in the Middle East and Africa

Hungarian energy giant Mol has made an offer to take over Croatia's oil firm Ina for some 1.2bn euros ($1.75bn; £973m) by raising its stake to 55%.

Mol, which already owns 25% of Ina, made an offer of 2,800 kuna ($576.6; £320.1; 394.7 euros) per share.

The 30% tranche is owned by several parties such as institutional investors. The Croatian government will retain a 45% stake in the company.

Ina covers energy exploration and drilling in Africa and the Middle East.

If the bid is successful, Mol would own more than half of Ina, making its share a controlling stake.

Analysts said Ina, which has 16,000 workers, has more scope for growth than other competitors in the energy sector.

The bid by Mol is in line with Ina's current trading price of some 2,786 kuna per share.

The offer for Ina will be valid for 28 days.