August 22 (SeeNews) - Croatian hotel operator Valamar Riviera [ZSE:RIVP-R-A] said on Thursday it has signed a hotel management agreement with local peer Helios Faros, in which it owns a minority stake.
The agreement is expected to take effect as of the beginning of September, Valamar said in a filing with the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE).
Helios Faros escaped bankruptcy in July when Valamar Riviera and pension insurance fund PBZ Croatia Osiguranje acquired stakes in the company through a capital increase, the proceeds of which were used to repay Helios' debt to creditors.
Valamar acquired a 23.61% ownership stake and PBZ Croatia Osiguranje a 70.83% stake in Hvar-based Helios, Valamar said earlier.
The two new owners have pledged to jointly manage Helios Faros' capacities, setting for a new phase in the development of tourism in Stari Grad on Hvar Island.
Helios Faros went insolvent in 2016 and a year later accepted the recapitalisation bid made by Valamar and PBZ Croatia Osiguranje. Prior to the acceptance, Valamar and PBZ had proposed to invest 650 million kuna ($97 million/88 million euro) in Helios Faros over six years.
Back then, the two companies also revealed plans to renovate two Helios Faros' hotels, Arkada and Lavanda, of around 700 accommodation units, thus repositioning the hotel operator on the map of premium accommodation sites.
(1 euro = 7.39211 kuna)