On April 1st, the INH Executive Committee set the maximum price per Repsol share at 3,585 pesetas, taking as a reference the average quotations registered at the daily stock market sessions between March 27th and 31st, inclusively. As stipulated in the terms of the Offer, this price is lower than or equal to the highest quotation marked on the aforementioned dates.

Furthermore, the Executive Committee of the Instituto Nacional de Hidrocarburos (INH) made immediate use of the authorization granted by the Council of Ministers to increase the retail tranche of the Offering by 6 million shares, from 17 to 23 million shares.

At the meeting held on Friday, March 31st, the Council of Ministers authorised the INH to increase the Public Share Offering (PSO) of Repsol shares by 12 million shares, the equivalent of 4% of capital equity, as a result of the high demand registered. Provisional data supplied by the banks indicate that, in the first phase of the PSO, over 270,000 investors have placed buying orders in the retail tranche, for over 200 billion pesetas.

Investors placing buying orders before April 1st, when the first phase of the Offering closed, will have priority in the pro-rata.

Starting from today, April 3rd, up to Friday, April 7th next, investors may make firm purchase applications, however these will not have preference in the pro-rata, as did the buying orders.

The retail selling price will be set on Monday, April 10th, and will be the same as the average quotation for that daily session, with an effective and immediate discount of 5%.

Initial demand estimates for the institutional tranche are most satisfactory. A large number of banks and foreign institutions (European and American) have already expressed interest in buying Repsol shares. Last Friday, presentations in Europe came to an end, and those for institutional investors in the U.S.A. begin today, Monday.