Budimka eyed by Kostic, Matijevic, Chinese, Arabs...

According to Blic's findings, Budimka Pozega, the bankruptcy of which was recently pronounced by the Commercial Court, thereby freeing the company of a debt of EUR 13 million, is being considered for purchase by both Petar Matijevic and Miodrag Kostic, whose companies are rated as the most serious potential purchasers in a long line of companies interested in this company.

Blic's source familiar with the circumstances of the sale of Budimka says that Kostic and Matijevic have been interested in the purchase for a long time and that they both developed business plans before the bankruptcy.

– Both have hired consulting companies which already have all the documentation on the company. They want to continue Budimka's production of fruit juices, jams and marmalades. They also want to continue vegetable production, as they have large amounts of land in Vojvodina, where they grow vegetables, and all the conditions for processing in Pozega – Blic's source says.

Budimka has a cooling plant, a meat processing facility and farms, which is an opportunity for Petar Matijevic to expand his business, whereas Kostic, as Blic learns, is not interested in the meat packing potentials of the company.

Both will have serious competition in two companies from China. One of them was promoted in Belgrade in 2016 by the Chinese delegation headed by President Xi Jinping. An investment of EUR 15 million, the creation of a network of 1,000 subcontractors and the opening of a factory in the Chinese province of Hebei, which would carry Budimka's name and buy raw ingredients in Serbia, were promised at the time.

Al Dahra from the United Arab Emirates is also preparing an offer. This company has already positioned itself within the Serbian agrarian industry. A consortium of companies from Russia, Hungary and Germany is also interested.

Djordje Stevanovic, one of the five members of the Council of Creditors of Budimka, did not want to comment on Blic's findings about Matijevic and Kostic being interested and only said that around twenty local and foreign companies were interested in purchasing the company.

– The valuation of the company's property is in progress and it is expected to be worth 7 to 8 million euros. The sale at an initial price no higher than EUR 4 million will be advertised no later than March. Around 25% of the total debt towards the creditors will be settled from the amount. There's enough interest for us to believe that Budimka will be sold in the first round, and the production cannot be initiated without employing 100-120 workers – Stevanovic says.

The agony of Budimka, in which the production stopped entirely in December 2015, has lasted long enough for those interested in owning it to study its assets well. The main one, of course, is its brand. The second most important one is the state of the equipment, good enough to allow for the production to be restarted in several days, and the third one is its sales price, Blic writes.

Budimka doo Požega

MK Group d.o.o. Beograd

IM Matijević d.o.o. Novi Sad

Al Dahra Ujedinjeni Arapski Emirati

Miodrag Kostic

Petar Matijevic

sale of Budimka

valuation of Budimka

juices

jams

marmalades

fruit processing

Djordje Stevanovic