Austrian unit of Croatia's Valamar to get 11 mln euro cap hike to buy second hotel

“One of the largest Austrian shareholders of Valamar Riviera, Gustav Wurmboeck, has initiated the capital increase of the Austrian subsidiary Valamar A with the aim of accelerating the expansion of the Valamar Group's portfolio whereby the acquisition of the Marietta hotel represent the first step towards new growth and development,” Valamar said in a filing to the Zagreb Stock Exchange.

Wurmboeck, chairman of the supervisory board of Valamar Riviera, will carry out the capital increase via his company Wurmboеck Beteiligungs (WB).

Following the capital increase, Valamar will hold 24.54% interest in the share capital of Valamar A, while WB will have a stake of 75.46%.

“The purpose of the transaction is the acquisition of ContiEstates AG, a Swiss joint stock company, by Valamar A and its related-party Austrian Eff neunzigsieben Beteiligungsverwaltung,” Valamar said.

ContiEstates owns the Marietta Hotel, which has 120 keys and is located in Obertauern, one of the bigger skiing centres in Austria.

These transactions are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

“After the finalisation of the takeover process, Valamar will manage two hotels in Austria where more than 130 Valamar employees, mainly from Croatia, would be employed during the winter season,” Valamar said in a separate statement.

In the coming two years, Valamar plans further investments in Austria which will include projects for repositioning and upgrading the quality of services in Marietta Hotel and Valamar Obertauern Hotel, the company added.

Valamar's shares traded at 32 kuna ($4.8/4.2 euro) intraday on Tuesday on the Zagreb bourse, unchanged compared to Monday's closing price.

(1 euro=7.529 Croatian kuna)