Potential takeover of Konzum and Velpro in B&H by Mercator – Waiting for creditors’ decision

Mercator might take over the store chains Konzum and Velpro in B&H, it was announced in Sarajevo on May 25, following the meeting of the extraordinary trustee of the Government of Croatia for Agrokor, Ante Ramljak, and Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of B&H Mirko Sarovic, held for the purpose of considering the state of Agrokor.

Ramljak states that most production companies in B&H were rather stable and that Konzum B&H and Velpro had relatively good, but still unsatisfactory results, the Fena agency reports. The problem, as he said, will be solved by Mercator’s taking over the two companies’ debts and liabilities, as well as their suppliers.

– Mercator will take care of all the suppliers, take over all the employees and thereby carry out the restructuring of all liabilities to the suppliers and provide security to the workers regarding their jobs – Ramljak said.

As he explained, the reason they’re bringing Mercator back to B&H is that numerous analyses have shown that this brand is much more recognizable and that it has had much more success than Konzum, providing a certain amount of security, considering the successful operations of the Slovenian store chain in Serbia and Slovenia so far.

Nevertheless, Ramljak emphasized that it was still only a plan and that definitive decisions had not yet been made.

– Mercator has its board of creditors, which needs to present this plan to its creditors, and Agrokor also needs to present a detailed plan of reintroducing the Mercator brand to B&H to its own board of creditors – he said and noted that, regardless of the decision not being definitive, they were heading in that direction.

Minister Sarovic said that the B&H side supported the Action Plan presented by Ramljak and added that he wished the plan to succeed, emphasizing that B&H would respond accordingly on its part.

– It is in our mutual interest for the restructuring of Agrokor, as well as the restructuring of and support to the Agrokor companies in B&H, to succeed, so that jobs would be kept and so that numerous suppliers in B&H, of which there are more than 1,300, would be kept and supported – Sarovic pointed out and assessed the present moment as very important for both Agrokor and its subsidiaries in B&H.

Mercator had net profit of EUR 1.1 million in the first quarter of 2017, an increase of 64% compares to the corresponding period of 2016, as shown by the quarterly report.

Mercator

Konzum

Velpro

Ante Ramljak

Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of B&H

Mirko Sarovic

Agrokor

restructuring of Agrokor