April 19 (SeeNews) - Two Russian banks will control up to 50% of Croatia's new Agrokor concern, which will start operating in September, Bosnia's economy minister Mirko Sarovic has said.
Following the signing of the settlement between the crisis management of Agrokor and the creditors of the ailing food-to-retail concern, a new Agrokor will be formed, in which Russian lenders Sberbank and VTB will control up to 50%, with Sberbank alone taking 40%, Sarovic said in a statement earlier this week following a meeting with his counterparts from Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Serbia in Bled, Slovenia.
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Earlier this month, Agrokor said its creditors have signed a debt settlement term sheet which sets a framework for the drafting of the actual text of the settlement. Under the agreement the creditors will become the new owners of the concern, while in return writing off a portion of their claims.
Agrokor will continue to operate as a holding with headquarters in the Netherlands, Sarovic added.
Sberbank is expected to gain the largest ownership share as it is largest creditor of Agrokor with claims totalling some 1.1 billion euro ($1.4 billion).
Earlier this week, Croatia's economy minister Martina Dalic said the crisis management of Agrokor is on the right path to wrap up its work by July 10.
In the next three months the text of the settlement will be finalised and submitted to the Commercial Court of Zagreb.
Agrokor, which employs some 60,000 people in the region, has been in financial turmoil since January last year. In April, a process of restructuring of the concern under crisis administration was launched according to a law on managing distressed companies, which are of systemic importance for Croatia's economy, commonly known as Lex Agrokor.
($=0.808881 euro)