January 27 (SeeNews) - Croatian mechanical engineering group Djuro Djakovic [ZSE:DDJH] said on Wednesday it has entered into negotiations with Czech company DD Acquisition after receiving two bids for its planned restructuring via recapitalisation.
In the coming period, DD Acquisition will get access to additional information about the mechanical engineering group and further take part in its restructuring if the negotiations are successful, Djuro Djakovic said in a statement filed with the Zagreb bourse, without providing the name of the other interested investor.
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Any decision on the pending restructuring will require the approval of Djuro Djakovic's shareholders, the group noted.
In December, local news daily Poslovni Dnevnik reported that Croatian energy and logistics group Energia Naturalis (ENNA) and a consortium of three Czech firms - Czechoslovak Group (CSG), Promet Group and CE Industries - have submitted non-binding bids in the tender for the recapitalisation of Djuro Djakovic.
In June, Djuro Djakovic invited investors to express interest in its restructuring process, following a decision by the Croatian government to issue state guarantees of up to 300 million kuna ($48 million/40 million euro) for a life-saving loan to the group and its units, if the management attracts a strategic partner in the group's ownership structure.
In May, the European Commission approved Croatia's plan to provide Djuro Djakovic with the loan guarantees of 300 million kuna, noting that the state aid will allow the company to meet urgent liquidity needs and continue its activities. Djuro Djakovic's financial and operating difficulties are mainly linked with the cutbacks in Croatia's national military spending in the last few years, the Commission noted at the time.
The group's shares traded 3.06% higher at 4.38 kuna on the Zagreb bourse by 1605 CET on Wednesday.
(1 euro = 7.5553 kuna)