Slovenian publisher Mladinska Knjiga to auction core assets - media

The publisher's major owners Bank Assets Management Company, or DUTB, and Abanka Vipa will hold a tender in the coming weeks, Dnevnik said, citing DUTB. Mladinska knjiga will bundle its debt and real estate into a new company and will thus sell only its core assets.

DUBT came by its interest in Mladinska Knjiga earlier this year when lenders NLB and Hypo Alpe Adria Bank transferred the assets to the so called "bad bank". The two were among the creditors of insolvent financial holding Zvon Dva, the indirect owner of 69% of Mladinska Knjiga.

According to Denvnik's unofficial information the new company would then be purchased by DUTB and Mladinska Knjiga would rent the premises from it.The greatest asset of the newly established company would be the warehousing and logistics center in Ljubljana.
The publisher's debt is estimated at 20 million euro ($ 25 million) while the real estate might be worth 25 million euro, the daily said.

"We are currently in the final stages of preparing a strategy for the publishing house. We expect to decide early next year in what form to continue the sales process," DUTB explained to Dnevnik. According to the daily the purchase price will not be higher than 5.5 million euro.

The assets on sale will be of interest to a former bidder for the publisher, its Lithuanian peer Alma Littera, Dnevnik said, adding that in May 2014 Slovenian rival Ucila International oubid it in the auction for a 51.2% stake but then failed to pay the purchase price of 5.4 million euro.

Mladinska Knjiga's revenue has been on the decline in the last years. For this year it expects 75 million euro, which is equal to half of its sales in 2008. Last year it ended with a loss of 5.35 million euro.

($=0.7982 euro)