To take over the brewery, the already indebted Mercator would need about EUR 500 million, which it intends to collect from shareholders' equity, international sources and disinvestment in real estate, Slovenian Television said.

Asked if this plan was realistic or if the move by Mercator's management was conceived as a response to Croatian concern Agrokor's attempt to buy Mercator, the president of the Slovenian association of small shareholders, Kristijan Verbic, told Slovenian Television he welcomed the management's decision and that the brewery takeover was realistic, adding that it would stabilise Mercator's ownership structure.

Some media said such a move by the management, which has been the staunchest opponent of the sale of its shares to Agrokor, was an attempt to additionally obstruct Agrokor's offer.

Slovenian Television said the Pivovarna Lasko management was collectively going on New Year's holidays on Friday and that it would comment on Mercator's plan after January 1.

Slovenian news agency STA, however, quoted the brewery's management as saying that it would examine in more detail in the days ahead the decision by Mercator's management to publish within 30 days a bid for the takeover of the brewery.

The biggest single shareholder in the brewery is Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB), holding a 23.9 per cent stake, but it is also one of the biggest creditors of the brewery whose loans revolve around EUR 400 million.

NLB director Bozo Jasovic yesterday tendered his irrevocable resignation after the bank, as the coordinator of a consortium selling a 52 per cent stake in Mercator, postponed due to political pressure a decision on the sale of its 10.75 per cent stake to Agrokor at 221 euros per share.

The other owners of Pivovarna Lasko are Hypo bank with a 7.2 per cent stake, Gorenjska Banka with 6.3 per cent, Banka Celje with 2.1 per cent and a number of other smaller Slovenian banks.

Commenting on today's decision by Mercator's management, Slovenian Agriculture Minister Dejan Zidan told STA he was surprised by it but would not comment on opinions that it was a "stalling manoeuvre" aimed at preventing Mercator's sale to Agrokor.

Zidan said he personally wanted both Mercator and Pivovarna Lasko to finally get stable ownership structures, which were undermined during privatisation.

"The biggest mistake was made when companies were bought by people without their own assets with loans which they charged to the companies they purchased," the said.