Mateusz Morawiecki made the remark at a media briefing in Warsaw on Wednesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
He noted that PKN Orlen recently also merged with Poland’s second-largest fuel firm, Lotos.
Morawiecki told reporters: “This big new company, created on the basis of these three entities, will have a very positive impact on Poland’s energy security, on investment possibilities, on our ability to implement more innovative solutions that the Polish economy so badly needs.”
The government approved the merger of PKN Orlen and PGNiG in September, officials said.
Morawiecki told the media on Wednesday that "such a huge corporation simply can do more.”
“Big companies can do more when it comes to investments," he said. "They have access to cheaper capital and can channel more resources into research and development."
According to Morawiecki, the new Polish energy conglomerate, created from the merger of PKN Orlen, Lotos and PGNiG, “has European potential.”
PKN Orlen announces completion of merger with PGNiG
Morawiecki's words came after PKN Orlen earlier on Wednesday announced that its merger with PGNiG had been officially recorded in Poland’s company register (KRS), making the transaction complete.
PKN Orlen said in a statement: “The merger has created the biggest fuel-and-energy group in Central Europe, a world top 150 company servicing more than 100 million customers.”
PKN Orlen added: “After merging with PGNiG, the Orlen Group has potential to deliver multi-billion investments to strengthen the security and energy independence of the whole Central Europe, and so it can effectively carry out energy transition in the markets where it has a presence.”
Meanwhile, PKN Orlen’s CEO Daniel Obajtek said in a tweet: “It’s a historical moment. The merger with PGNiG marks the beginning of the creation of a new, integrated concern with a diversified profile.”
He added: “Our aim is a sustainable transition that leads to emission neutrality. We’ll deliver clean, affordable energy to millions of customers.”
Obajtek told a news conference that following the earlier acquisition of Lotos and the Energa Group company, PKN Orlen’s takeover of PGNiG represented “the last step in creating a strong, multi-energy corporation,” public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, businessinsider.com.pl, orlen.pl