Budapest - MOL plc, Hungary's expansion-minded oil and gas group, nearly doubled its stake in Croatian energy company INA to more than 47 per cent in a deal worth 1.2 billion dollars, MOL said Friday.

MOL said it expects anti-trust regulators to approve the purchase, which would give the Hungarian company a larger share of INA than the Croatian government's near-45-per-cent stake.

Chief executive Zsolt Hernadi said MOL raised its stake to 47.15 per cent in a public tender - "another important step toward the realization of our strategic goal: strengthening the partnership with INA."

MOL bought 25 per cent and one share of INA's capital in 2003, seeking a partnership that would allow both companies to expand further across ex-communist Central Europe.

Budapest-based MOL has operations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the former Soviet Union as well as a network of filling stations in eastern Europe. INA has a market-capitalization about one-third the size of MOL's and is focussed on the Croatian market.

Over the past year, MOL has fought off a merger bid by Austrian rival OMV.

OMV bought 20.2 per cent of MOL last year as part of efforts to force a merger, then abandoned the bid in August saying the European Commission had rejected its proposals to prevent regional market concentration in retailing and refining. (dpa)