Slovenia allows Agrokor to acquire Mercator
“We have studied if the Mercator sale would hurt the retail market here and have concluded that wouldn’t be the case and have no objections to this transaction,” Slovenian competition regulator head Andrej Krasek said at a news conference in the capital Ljubljana today.
Zagreb-based Agrokor signed an agreement with Mercator owners in June to buy a 53 percent stake in the Slovenian retailer for 240 million Euros ($327 million), or 120 Euros a share. Mercator owners are drinks company Pivovarna Lasko d.d. and Slovenian banks including Nova Ljubljanska Banka d.d.
Agrokor’s takeover bid is its fifth to buy its biggest competitor in the Balkans. Croatia’s biggest company with interests in food production, retail and press distribution last offered 221 Euros per Mercator share in 2011, valuing the retailer at 832 million Euros, before abandoning the bid in early 2012 amid opposition from Slovenian politicians.
Shares Slump
The Croatian company plans to increase Mercator’s capital and may sell Mercator shares in a public offering next year while merging retail operations into Adria Retail that will be completed by the end of 2014, Finance newspaper reported in June, citing Agrokor President Ivica Todoric.
Source: bloomberg.com
