August 17 (SeeNews) - Polish port operator OT Logistics is most likely to buy a 11.75% stake in Croatian port operator Luka Rijeka [ZSE:LKRI-R-A] from the government to increase its shareholding in the company to 32.56%, Croatian media reported on Thursday.
The Polish company is the second largest shareholder of Luka Rijeka but would take the lead from the government if it snaps up the 11.75% stake in the sale process launched on Wednesday, news portal Poslovni.hr reported.
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OT Logistics would then be expected to launch a buyout bid for the remaining shares it does not own. According to Poslovni.hr, the Polish port operator has no competitor at present.
On Wednesday, Croatia's state-run centre for enterprise restructuring and privatisation, CERP, launched a public call for binding bids in the sale of a 11.75% stake in Luka Rijeka at a minimum price of 77.6 million kuna ($12.3 million/10.5 million euro).
A total of 1,584,124 shares in Luka Rijeka will be sold off-book in a single block transaction on the Zagreb Stock Exchange, CERP said.
The deadline for submission of bids is August 28.
The government owns 36.78% of Luka Rijeka.
(1 euro=7.39504 kuna)