Slovenia's Intus Invest gives up Istrabenz buyout plans

Istrabenz was notified on December 20 about Intus Invest's change of plans, it said in a filing with the Ljubljana Stock Exchange on Friday, without providing further details.

Intus Invest announced its plans to launch the buyout bid on November 26, Istrabenz said last month.

Slovenia's 'bad bank', DUTB, is the largest single shareholder in Istrabenz with 21.69%, followed by a fiduciary account at Croatia's Zagrebacka Banka with 15.88%, Intus Invest with 12.95% and NFD Holding in liquidation with 12.50%, company data showed on November 26. The remainder belongs to smaller shareholders.

Earlier this month, Istrabenz said the District Court in Koper sent on December 6 a proposal for the launch of compulsory settlement proceedings, which was requested by DUTB.

Istrabenz has said its unconsolidated net loss shrank to 2.1 million euro ($2.3 million) in January-September from 2.3 million euro in the like period of 2018, despite a 19% annual rise in sales revenue to 176,150 euro.

Its net debt dropped to 73 million euro at the end of September from 117 million euro at the end of 2018, while its capital stood at negative 64.3 million euro, somewhat better than the negative 74.8 million euro at the end of December.

Istrabenz has been involved in the acquisition, management, evaluation and sale of shares in Slovenian and foreign companies, as well as investments in the energy, tourism, and information technology sectors.

($=0.9025 euro)