March 20 (SeeNews) - Croatian privately-held concern Agrokor said it is working on a new business model which will protect the interests of all its stakeholders, and primarily those of its employees.
"The position and viability of Agrokor and its companies is not in question," it said in a statement over the weekend.
The new business model will soon be presented to all key partners and employees.
Agrokor neither confirmed nor denied local media reports that Russian banks, including Sberbank, may shortly acquire a stake in the company and launch an overhaul.
Instead, it said that the "repositioning of the company will enable the further development of all our companies, and our business partners/suppliers".
In January Moody's downgraded Agrokor's corporate family rating (CFR) to B3 from B2. A month later, the ratings agency changed its outlook on the company from stable to negative.
Following Moody's January decision, Agrokor pulled out of a syndicated loan deal it had struck with several international lenders, which sent the price of its bonds on international markets into a downward spiral.
Standard&Poor's Global Ratings also said earlier this month that it has lowered to 'B-' from 'B' its long-term corporate credit rating on Agrokor, with a negative outlook.
Croatian media have been speculating that Agrokor will need to sell off a number of its affiliates in order to service its obligations, which include a PIK loan it took out in 2014 to fund its acquisition of Mercator.