November 10 (SeeNews) - The Croatian Privatisation Fund (HFP) on Tuesday decided to propose to the government to accept the offer pitched by Croatian privately-owned concern Agrokor in a tender for 87.98% of local agricultural conglomerate Vupik, Croatian media reported on Tuesday.
The bidding deadline expired on October 22.
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Agrokor has bid 30 million kuna ($6.2 million/4.1 million euro) for the 1,251,163 Vupik shares put up for sale and has agreed to settle 20% of the company's overdue financial obligations to state-owned creditors which adds up to 50-60 million kuna, news portal Lider Press (www.liderpress.hr) reported.
Vupik's total obligations totalled 476.5 million kuna on June 30, 2009, the HFP said when it opened the privatisation tender in September.
An analysis showed that Agrokor’s financial offer was around 20% better than the only other valid bid filed in the tender, that of M SAN Ulaganja and agricultural company Zito, Lider Press said.
Agrokor has also agreed to keep the payroll and invest 430 million kuna in Vupik over a five-year period. The trade union representative on the HFP managing board also backed Agrokor’s bid, news outlet added.
Vukovar-based Vupik had a payroll of 847 on June 30, 2009, the HFP said in the tender notice.
Outside its home country, Agrokor is present in Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro.
(1 euro = 7.2766 Croatian kuna)