The offer by the German Crown Investment was rejected because of the problems encountered by the company which was behind that investor, Austria's A-tec company, so the government decided to publish a new tender to last a dozen days, Economy Minister Djuro Popijac said at a government session.

Crown Investment had been the only bidder for 3. Maj in the second round of privatisation of that shipyard and the government had decided to continue the negotiations with it.

Throughout the autumn of 2010 the Economy Ministry worked intensively with the bidder on a restructuring programme that was submitted to the Competition Agency and the European Commission, and the programme was assessed as good, Popijac said.

However, the company behind Crown Investment's offer, the Austrian concern A-tec owned by Mirko Kovats, in November last year found itself in business problems, having to declare insolvency.

The Austrian company on January 10 informed the Ministry in writing that it had not managed to overcome its problems and that it could not estimate when it would be able to do it, Popijac said, adding that the third round of privatisation of 3. Maj was proposed with the consent of the European Commission.

The tender conditions will be the same as for the second round and the tender will last a dozen days, he said.

"Considering the interest shown in the meantime by some parties, I believe that it will not jeopardise the course of (Croatia's EU accession) talks, and that we will find a good investor," Popijac said.

The tender conditions for the third privatisation round for the 3. Maj shipyard will be the same as in the second round - 83.32 percent of the shipyard's stock will be sold at the starting price of one kuna. The investor is expected to submit a programme for the company's restructuring and provide at least 40 percent of the funding needed for the restructuring.