March 27 (SeeNews) - Slovenian sovereign holding company SDH plans to launch a new tender for the sale of troubled metal products manufacturer Mariborska Livarna (MLM) after the previous attempt to dispose of the company attracted no bids, local media reported.
The potential buyer is expected to provide financial resources to MLM either through recapitalisation or a long-term loan, in order to allow the company to continue production operations, Slovenian public broadcaster RTV reported on Tuesday.
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SDH will provide the potential buyer with the choice to either buy all of the assets of the metal products maker at an approximate market value of 10.9 million euro ($11.8 million), with the sovereign holding company deducting the sum from the claims against MLM as part of the deal, or to pay an annual rental fee of 1.1 million euro for ten years for the use of production facilities.
The sovereign holding is also ready to transfrom all of the 13.7 million euro claims against MLM into a 10-year loan with an interest rate of 8% and a two-year moratorium on repayment of the principal, with the option of early repayment of claims without costs, RTV reported.
MLM has been facing difficulties stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, the energy crisis, and declining car production in Europe. The company has been granted a total of 13.3 million euro in direct state aid, disbursed in instalments since 2009, with the most recent installment provided in 2020.
In September, the Slovenian government said it can no longer extend aid to MLM and the company needs a new owner to avoid bankruptcy.
($ = 0.92316 euro)