April 25 (SeeNews) - Slovenian retailer Mercator [LJE:MELR] wants to regain the management of the stores it ran in Bosnia and Herzegovina prior to its takeover by Croatian privately-held concern Agrokor, Slovenian media reported on Tuesday.
After Agrokor gained control of Mercator, it replaced all Mercator-branded stores in Bosnia with its own Konzum retail network. Mercator is currently engaged in talks in an attempt to regain this market, news daily Dnevnik reported.
Firstly, Mercator would like to run again its large shopping centers that operated well under its brand but have had less success operating under Konzum.
After Konzum took over Mercator's stores in Bosnia, retail volumes have suffered a significant drop. Mercator, however, believes that it could bring recovery and further grow the company on the Bosnian market, Dnevnik noted.
In March, Agrokor raised its stake in Mercator from 59.47% to 69.57% under a deal with the Netherlands-based financial holding company Agrokor Investment B.V.
According to available data, Agrokor Investment B.V. was set up by Agrokor owner Ivica Todoric with the purpose of acquiring Mercator. The financial holding company acquired the remaining shares of Mercator in 2015, after Agrokor became the owner of just over 50% of the Slovenian retailer in 2014.
The purchase of Mercator is now seen as one of the triggers that set Agrokor on a course towards financial trouble, which only became apparent earlier this year when Moody's downgraded the corporate family rating (CFR) on Agrokor to B3 from B2. The company then pulled out of a syndicated loan deal it had struck with several international lenders, which sent the price of its bonds on international markets into a downward spiral.