"BlackStone" ready to spent billions - US fund wants to buy four Serbian companies

One of the world`s largest funds, US ""BlackStone", is willing to spend certain share of 100 billion USD worth of available investments in Serbia. The US investors are interested in state-owned companies "Petrohemija", "Jat tehnika" and Mining-Smelter Basin (RTB) "Bor", as well as in "Maxi" and other members of "Deltaholding".

The representatives of this fund have spent last few days in Zagreb where they speak to the owner of "Agrokor", IvicaTodorić, about possible investments. They then contacted the representatives of "Deltaholding" because the fund is interested in takeover of market chain "Maxi".

As "Blic" learns from unofficial sources, the highest management of "Delta holding" had the meeting with the representatives of the US investment fund. Further talks and negotiations are expected in the near future.

"Blaxton" is also interested in purchasing the state-owned companies that have great potentials, but operate with losses, such as "Petrohemija", "Jat tehnika", RTB "Bor". The fund will be negotiating on that with the Government of Serbia within the next few months.

Srđan Mišković, the CEO of "Jat tehnika", told "Blic" that someone from the Government of Serbia had unofficially informed him on the interest in "Jat tehnika" expressed by the US fund.

- I was expecting to see them because there were some hints that they might come to talk with us. We still expect a meeting with them because they can not "buy a pig in a poke". I don`t know much about the very fund except that it has the stocks of some of the world`s most valuable companies in its possession. In any case, it is positive that they express interest in us because that means that we are valuable - Mišković points out.

However, Saša Pavlov, the Director General of "Petrohemija", is not familiar with the interest expressed by the fund, although he does not hide that he would be more than satisfied with such buyer.

- We don`t have either official or unofficial information on that, but we are very happy to hear that. We have the capacity for production and every buyer who wants to invest money in the company is welcome. I would definitely like to meet these people and see what they have to offer us - Pavlov told "Blic".

This investment giant bought corporation "Hilton hotels" in 2007 for 26 billion USD, which made the company the world`s largest hotel group.

It was the biggest deal in the history of hotel business."BlackStone" owns 2,800 hotels within "Hilton","Doubletree", "Embassy Suites", "Hampton Inn", "Homewood Suites" and"Waldorf-Astoria Colection" hotel chains, which comprise about 500,000 rooms. That is 60,000 rooms less than "Intercontinental hotels group" has. The latter ranks first in number of rooms in the world.

"BlackStone" is also engaged in the operations in the region. Over the last few years it has been mentioned as the party interested in takeover of Nova Ljubljanska Banka, the largest Slovenian bank, as well as the partner of Croatian "Agrokor" in Turkey and in the operations concerning the purchase of "Mercator".

World`s best paid manager

- The best paid manager in 2008 in the USA, and most likely in the world, was Stephen Swartzman, the CEO and co-founder of the world`s largest investment fund "BlackStoneGroup" - "Corporate Library" announced.

Mr. Swartzman`s salary in 2008 amounted to 2.3m USD, and he also got a bonus of 699.8m USD, based on the contract that he signed after "BlackStone" entered the stock exchange. Mr. Swartzman will be receiving similar amount of money during the next four years, so that he may keep the primacy for a long time.

(Note: complete text is taken over from newspaper Blic of October 14, 2009)