Croatia's largest company Agrokor in Ljubljana on Friday signed a contract to buy 53.12 percent of Slovenian retailer Mercator at the price of 240 million euros.
The majority of Mercator’s shareholders, including Nova Ljubljanska Banka d.d., Slovenia’s largest bank, and Pivovarna Lasko Group, signed a contract with Agrokor earlier on Friday to sell the stake at 120 euros per share.
The acquisition is expected to create the largest retail chain in central and eastern Europe, excluding Russia, with annual revenue of up to 7 billion euros. It would also employ about 60,000 people and have about 2,600 stores.
Agrokor has sought to buy Mercator for years to expand into neighboring Slovenia, a European Union member since 2004, and the rest of the Balkans. Croatia will join the bloc on July 1.
