Exclusive negotiations with the Croatian food concern Agrokor on the sale of a majority stake in the biggest Slovenian retailer Mercator will be conducted until the end of this year, with the possibility of their extension, and if no transaction is agreed, Mercator's owners will be free to negotiate a transaction with other bidders that have submitted non-binding bids in an international tender, Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) said on Tuesday.
The agreement granting exclusivity in negotiations to an international consortium of buyers led by Agrokor d.d. and consisting of Agrokor, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation and the One Equity Partners fund ('Consortium of Buyers') has an exclusivity long stop date of 31 December 2011 and may be extended by mutual agreement between the parties if conditions of the exclusivity agreement are not fulfilled, the NLB said in a statement on behalf of the selling shareholders.
"The Selling Shareholders will now seek to enter into a transaction with the Consortium of Buyers on terms which are acceptable to them and which protect the interests of Mercator. If they are unable to do so, the Selling Shareholders will be free to negotiate a transaction with other bidders once the period of exclusivity granted to the Consortium of Buyers expires," the NLB said on its web site.
Apart from the NLB and the Pivovarna Lasko brewery, the other shareholders that together hold a 52.10% stake in Mercator are Abanka, Banka Celje, Banka Koper, Gorenjska Banka, Hypo Alpe Adria Bank, the investment fund NFD 1, NFD Holding, Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor (NKBM), the Pivovarna Union brewery and the Radenska beverages producer.
