Croatia To Cancel Sale of Steel Mill to Poland's Zlomrex, To Open New Tender

Zlomrex, a privately-held steel manufacturer and distributor, and a negotiating team from the Croatian Privatisation Fund should sign an agreement for the cancellation of the Zeljezara Split deal by October 31, the Croatian government said in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday.

As soon as the agreement is signed, it should be approved by the government, paving the way for the launch of a new tender for the privatisation of the steel mill, the statement said.

The new tender procedure should be completed by the end of December, it added.

Zlomrex bought 89.34% of the indebted Croatian steelworks for 10.1 million kuna ($2.1 million/1.4 million euro) from the government in Zagreb in 2007 and later increased its stake to 95.86%.

Earlier this year, Zlomrex agreed to sell Zeljezara Sptil to London-based Carlson Private Equity Limited, but the Croatian government rejected the deal.

(1 euro=7.2813 Croatian kuna)