HPS buys Merkur in Slovenia – Americans interested in retail centers from this chain in the region

The American investment fund HPS Investment Partners has bought a “healthy” part of Merkur, the Slovenian technical goods retail chain, which has been in bankruptcy for three years, and the media are also speculating about its being interested in Croatia's Pevec.

The American fund will pay EUR 28.56 million for Merkur, and the funds will be used to repay the debts towards the creditors, the bankruptcy supervisor, Simona Gorjup, stated on Tuesday, July 11, 2017, following the signing of the agreement.

As the Slovenian media write, HPS Investment Partners is also interested in purchasing the immovable property of the old Merkur, that is, its retail centers, not just in Slovenia, but in the neighboring countries as well, and it might also buy the Croatian retail chain Pevec in order to strengthen its position in the region and the retail sector, which has a perspective, despite the increasingly prominent trend of online purchase.

Former Slovenian minister of economy Matej Lahovnik stated that the question now was whether the American investor would be able to buy out Merkur's stores in Croatia from Heta, the “bad bank” of the former Austrian transregional Hypo Alpe Adria bank, which was selling the real estate confiscated due to unpaid debts, or whether it would be interested in strengthening the activity which had a good economic perspective in the region.

Merkur's financial troubles are a result of high growth and expansion rates of around 20% a year, causing it to incur large debts, whereas high profits evaporated once the crisis started, bringing the construction industry to a halt.

The company recovered under bankruptcy supervision and its 2016 revenues amounted to EUR 212 million, whereas net profit equaled EUR 5.9 million.

Last year, it was speculated that the recovered Croatian Pevec was interested in purchasing Merkur, but its non-binding big was rejected.

When it comes to Merkur's real estate in Serbia, one of the latest pieces of news says that Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor (NKBM) has advertised the sale of the chain's former retail center in Bezanijska Kosa, New Belgrade.

Merkur Group Naklo

PEVEC ZAGREB d.o.o.

HETA Asset Resolution, d. o. o. Ljubljana

HYPO BANK d.d. Ljubljana

Nova KBM d.d. Maribor

HPS Investment Partners

Heta bank

Hypo Alpe Adria

Simona Gorjup

Matej Lahovnik

Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor

TC Bezanijska Kosa

TC Merkur