May 24 (SeeNews) - Slovenia's 'bad bank', DUTB, said on Wednesday it has settled the debt owed to the Croatian Agency for Deposit Insurance and Bank Resolution (DAB) by car parts maker Cimos Group, which was recently purchased by Italy's TCH Cogeme.
Imre Balogh, CEO of the 'bad bank', said in a statement DUTB has signed an agreement to buy the claims of the Croatian state agency against Cimos for 7 million euro ($7.8 million).
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By signing the contract, the Croatian side has committed to withdraw the claim against Cimos, since the claim has been purchased by DUTB, Balogh said.
"From this point forward, Cimos can fully focus on the future. The company got a solid ownership structure and sustainable clean financial and legal conditions, which provides long-term stability and a solid framework for future development", he added.
Last week, TCH Cogeme, a unit of investment firm Palladio Holding Group, acquired Cimos. Earlier this year, the company said it will withdraw from the purchase, due to the dispute between Slovenia and Croatia over the debt owed to DAB by Cimos.
The car parts maker was sold for 100,000 euro ($112,000), but TCH has already remitted 18.3 million euro of fresh capital into a fiduciary account for the purpose of recapitalising the company. It is also due to invest a further 15 million euro this year.
The sellers of Cimos were DUTB with a 47.5% share, the Slovenian government with a 24.26% stake and lenders NLB with 9.44%, Gorenjska Banka with 5.74%, Abanka Vipa with 2.42%, Nova KBM with 2.2% and SID Banka with 0.74%. They gained their shareholding interest in Cimos following a 168 million euro debt-to-equity swap in 2014.
($=0.893873 euro)