The Croatian government on Thursday accepted the bid from the Romanian company S.C. Grup Feroviar Roman S.A. for the purchase of a 75% stake in the HZ Cargo rail company.
Three bids have been submitted following the invitation for 75% of HZ Cargo in May and only that of the Romanian company was assessed as complete and valid, having met all 11 tender terms, said the Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Sinisa Hajdas Doncic.
According to the bid, Grup Feroviar Roman would buy HZ Cargo within 30 days of signing the contract, it would pay 30 million euros to repay the principal sum of a loan covered by a state guarantee, 10 million euros would go towards operating capital to cover the liabilities to suppliers and workers' wages, and a further 20 million euros for investment.
Within the next year the Romanian partner would assume long-term loans covered by state guarantees in the amount of 80 million euros, for which it has a guarantee from the Romanian Development Bank, Hajdas Doncic said.
The government approved guarantees to HZ Infrastructure and HZ Passenger Transport for borrowing HRK 650 million and HRK 250 million respectively. Both loans are to be repaid over a period of five years, with a one-year grace period.
Hajdas Doncic said that HZ Infrastructure would use the loan funds for investment, while HZ Passenger Transport would use half the amount of its loan to pay HZ Infrastructure for the lease of railway lines and the other half for modernisation.
