The CEO of Hungary-based integrated oil and gas company MOL has said that Austrian oil and gas company OMV's attempt to acquire the company has failed, reported Reuters.

Reuters quoted MOL’s CEO, Gyorgy Mosonyi, as saying: Both companies pursue a growth strategy and this can be achieved through competition between the two firms, not by a merger. Therefore, I very much hope that OMV shareholders have a plan B, because plan A (for a takeover) has definitely failed.

With a 20% stake in MOL, OMV wants MOL to cancel stock representing around 40% of the company, for which it is ready to pay $181 per share, and MOL is not ready to do that.

Meanwhile, OMV maintains that it may revise the price at a later stage once all other obstacles to its bid are cleared. Reuters quoted Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer, CEO of OMV, as saying that the company is willing to let the takeover issue drag on, potentially for as long as three years.