UPDATE 1-CEZ says to take stake in Hungary's MOL

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KRYNICA, Poland, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Czech electricity producer CEZ will take a minority stake in Hungary's oil and gas firm MOL , CEZ Chief Executive Martin Roman told Reuters on Thursday.

CEZ, the largest central European company with a market capitalisation of $31.4 billion, and MOL announced last week they would form an alliance to build power plants in central and southeastern Europe.

CEZ said in a statement when the deal was first announced that it was "considering" taking an up to 10 percent stake. The shares would come directly from MOL, a company worth $15.4 billion.

"It is a complicated structure. The exact size of the stake will be published when the contract is signed, which should be within a few months," Roman said on the sidelines of a business conference in the southern Polish town of Krynica.

Analysts praised the plans to jointly build gas-powered power stations but some questioned the rationale of taking an equity stake in MOL, saying it may have been influenced by politicians wanting to create a strong central European power group.

The alliance was established with a nod from key Czech government figures, a government source has said.

For MOL, CEZ would help in its struggle to defeat what it calls a hostile approach by Austrian refiner OMV , which has built up a 18.6 percent stake.

"The main aim of the deal is construction of new sources (capacities)," Roman said. "The capital entry is related to the fact that when we are going to invest with a partner, we want to have some influence."

CEZ shares were unchanged after the news at 1,075 crowns, up 0.1 percent from Wednesday. MOL traded 0.5 percent weaker on the day at 26,175 forints.