Ljubljana, 05 October, Slovenia's jobless total dropped to the lowest level since the country gained independence in June 1991, with only 52,043 unemployed registered with the Employment Service at the end of September, down 3.5% at monthly level and 21.3% at annual level.

In September, 4,962 persons were newly registered as unemployed for a monthly rise of 25.6% and an annual rise of 7.5%. However, the overall jobless total figure dropped as the Employment Service deleted 6,854 persons from jobless records after 4,567 got a job or got self-employed, up 98.4% compared to August and 20% fewer than a year ago. The majority of those who found a job last month were secretaries, shop assistants, manual workers in manufacturing, pre-school educators, primary school teachers and cleaners.

Employers meanwhile reported 15,122 vacancies to the Employment Service in September, down 14% from August and 2.5% from September last year. Most of the employers seeking new staff came from manufacturing, construction, health care and social care, and education. The first nine months of the year meanwhile saw an average 57,9180 persons registered as jobless, which is around 25% fewer than in the same period last year. The majority newly registered because their fixed-term contracts expired. (Source: www.STA.si)

The Czech information and communication technology (ICT) solution provider Solitea has taken over another successful ICT company in Slovenia. After purchasing the company Saop from Šempetra pri Gorica in 2016, he has now taken over the Šenčura company Vasco, which develops and sells software solutions for small, medium and large companies.

As the first joint project of Saop and Vasco, the new owners mentioned the development of a new POS (point of sales) solution for easy cash register management, and in the future, according to CEP of Saop Petra Šinigoj, they are also targeting smart cloud solutions.

According to Saop, the acquisition will not affect Vasco's customers or employees, who will continue to operate under the current management. The company from Šenčur has around 30 employees and more than 4,200 customers.

The company Vasco was founded in 1991 by husband and wife Tomaž and Mojca Čebašek, and last year it was ranked fourth among 167 analyzed information companies in the Finance TOP IT ranking.

Meanwhile, Solitea is one of the major suppliers of accounting and business information systems for the private and public sector in Central and Eastern Europe. They entered the market of the countries of the former Yugoslavia for the first time in 2016 with the acquisition of Saop, within the framework of which they have so far united five acquired companies operating on the market in the region. The Czech group employs more than 1,400 people in seven countries and has more than 260,000 customers in 35 countries worldwide. This year, it is expected to generate 130 million euros in revenue. (Source: www.sta.si)

The Slovenian Enterprise Fund (SEF) has a Voucher for the transfer of ownership as part of public tenders. The aim of the voucher is to encourage SMEs to carry out activities to prepare and perform the transfer of ownership. The transfer of ownership for the purpose of using the voucher means the transfer or sale of a majority stake in a company, and the transfer of a sole proprietor to a transferee entrepreneur.

The SEF co-finances 60% of eligible costs under this public tender. Eligible costs are divided into three sets:

• set of activities: Costs of activities related to the preparation of the applicant for the transfer of ownership,
• set of activities: Costs of activities related to the implementation of the transfer of ownership,
• set of activities: Costs of activities related to raising the competencies of the acquirer of the family business.
• For each lot, the minimum amount of co-financing is EUR 500.00, and the maximum is EUR 3,000.00.

If you consider transferring ownership and would like to use the SEF voucher funds, we can help you. We can prepare all the necessary documentation for the use of funds, in addition, we can carry out the entire process of transferring ownership.

For more information you contact us at ajda.novak@rj-finance.com or +386 31 753 053.

Alfi, Slovenia’s largest private equity fund, has singed a EUR 50 million deal to acquire the hardware retailer Merkur Trgovina from HPS Investment Partners of the US.

Merkur’s retail activity will be transferred to Alfi next year after the transaction has been cleared by the market regulator. The transaction, valued at roughly 50 million, does not include store premises. Merkur Trgovina has been leasee at shopping centres owned by Merkur before it ended up in receivership.

US fund HPS Investment Partners bought Merkur’s retail business from the bankruptcy estate in July 2017 for EUR 28.56 million before acquiring 13 Merkur shopping centres from Heta, the Austrian bad bank, for EUR 49 million. Two years ago, HPS sold 15 Merkur stores and shopping centres across the country for EUR 100 million to LCN Capital Partners, another fund which also owns a 2% stake in Merkur Trgovina. LCN will continue as the lessor in the future and has already extended rental contracts for a long term.

Merkur generated a net profit of EUR 250,000 on EUR 220 million in revenue last year when stores were affected by lockdown. In 2019 it made EUR 4.8 million in net profit on EUR 237 million in revenue.

Alfi has been active acquiring assets in Slovenia. It has been consolidating private veterinary hospitals and private health centres providing image diagnostics. It has also acquired grocer Tuš from creditors and bought Trival, an antennas provider.

(Source: https://sloveniatimes.com/alfi-signs-deal-to-acquire-merkur/)

Generali Growth Equity Fund, a private equity fund established and managed by Generali Investments, has completed the purchase of a 100% stake in Rolnet d.o.o., one of the leading specialised sellers of sports nutrition, health and wellness products in the region of South-East Europe best known for its Proteini.si and Battery Nutrition brands.

Established in 2004, Rolnet d.o.o operates in the markets of Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Austria. Today, the company is a reliable partner in the sports nutrition industry and one of the leading specialised sellers of sports nutrition, health and wellness products in the region of South-East Europe. It develops and markets sports nutrition products and food supplements, focusing on sales in franchise stores, shopping centres, gyms, via online shops and through other distributors (retailers). The company owns the Proteini.si and Battery Nutrition brands, and has over the years gradually secured distribution and agency for the most established European brands of sports nutrition.

Through the equity investment of Generali Growth Equity Fund, Rolnet will be able to strengthen the further development of its services and their provision in the markets of the region.

(Source: www.generali-investments.si)

Hungary-based investment company AutoWallis said it has signed a binding agreement to acquire Slovenian car dealer Avto Aktiv.

AutoWallis will pay the purchase price from its own resources, the Hungarian company said in a statement last week. The closing of the transaction requires the consent of the Slovenian Competition Authority. No financial details on the transaction were revealed in the statement.

The Slovenian company's sales can be considered significant among previous transactions, approaching 10% of AutoWallis' expected sales this year, the Hungarian company noted.

Avto Aktiv recorded a turnover of nearly 18 billion Hungarian forints ($60.7 million/51.4 million euro) in 2020 and has been selling and servicing BMW, MINI, Jaguar, Land Rover, Toyota and Suzuki vehicles in Koper, Kranj, Ljubljana, Nova Gorica and Trzin for almost 20 years, AutoWallis said.

In October, AutoWallis closed the acquisition of A-Cosmos, the only BMW dealership in Slovenia, entering the country's automotive retail market.

(Source: www.seenews.com)

Mimovrste, Slovenia's largest online retailer, has been acquired by Polish shopping platform Allegro. The latter bought Mall Group, which owns Mimovrste and WE/DO, from PPF, EC Investments and Rockaway Capital on Thursday. The deal is worth EUR 881 million, with an adjustment of EUR 44 million for debt and other items.

Mimovrste said in a press release that the planned merger of Allegro, Mall Group and WE|DO would strengthen its status of a leading online market place and a platform for buyers and retailers in Central and Eastern Europe.

In Poland, Slovenia and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the merged group of 135,000 retailers will operate under the principle "publish once - sell everywhere", which means it will have access to a EUR 250 billion retail market with 70 million people.

Mimovrste is confident that the deal will also improve the shopping experience for its 18-million member base in the region. The Mimovrste team currently consists of 7,200 staff members sharing a "joint culture", which focusses on consumers and innovation, and the merger opens new career options for the team in an international working environment, the company said.

The transaction, which still needs to be approved by regulators, is to be concluded in the second half of 2020.

Gorenjska Banka, the Slovenian bank owned by the Serbian AIK Banka, has signed a deal to acquire the Slovenian subsidiary of the Russian Sberbank. Pending approval by regulators, the merger would create the third largest banking group in the country.

The legally binding contract signed by Gorenjska Banka is part of a larger deal signed on Wednesday between Sberbank Europe and AIK Banka, Gorenjska Banka and AGRI Europe Cyprus Group to acquire Sberbank subsidiaries in Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Hungary, whose total assets amount to EUR 7.33 billion.

The signing of the contract was preceded by an extensive procedure that included many analyses, with the buyers being selected due to their strong regional presence, vision of the future development of the bank, the Kranj-based bank said on Wednesday.

AIK Banka executive board president and Gorenjska Banka chief supervisor Jelena Galić noted the importance of mutual growth and further development, with the commitment to further improve banking services.

"Since 2019, when AIK Banka became the majority owner of Gorenjska banka, the latter has been recording growth, followed by a stable capital and deposit base and improved profitability, encouraging us to continue investing in this part of Europe," she added.

Once the takeover of Sberbank subsidiaries in Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Hungary is finalised, total assets of the AIK Banka group will increase to more than EUR 11 billion, Galić announced.

Last year, Gorenjska Banka was the 7th largest bank in Slovenia in terms of total assets, while Sberbank was the 9th largest out of a total of 14 banks. The merger would create the third largest banking group in the country with a 9.4% market share. 

(Source: https://www.investslovenia.org)

Croatia's competition watchdog gave a nod last week for the acquisition of local oil wholesaler and retailer of petroleum products Crodux Derivati Dva by Slovenian energy group Petrol [LJE:PETG] and the takeover of local electric cable manufacturer Elka by Slovenian electrotechnical products manufacturer Iskra.

"The Croatian Competition Agency on June 29 assessed as allowable the intention to carry out consolidation which takes place by the acquisition of control by Petrol of Crodux Derivati Dva," the agency said in a statement on its website.

Through the transaction, Petrol aims to expand its retail network in Croatia, as after the deal it will have a market share of 20 to 30% in terms of number of fuel stations, the regulator said, adding that local oil and gas company INA [ZSE:INA] as the biggest market player will keep its market share of 40 to 50%.

There is still room for new big fuel wholesalers to join the Croatian market, it noted, adding that Petrol is not likely to raise fuel retail prices in Croatia after the acquisition.

Petrol signed a deal to buy Crodux Derivati Dva from businessman Ivan Cermak in January. It did not elaborate the value of the deal, but according to media reports it was over 200 million euro ($237.4 million).

Petrol's shares did not trade on the Ljubljana bourse on Monday morning. On Friday, they closed at 439 euro, up 0.92%.

The watchdog also gave its approval for the acquisition of Elka. The deal will result in significant business synergy effects in view of the earlier takeover of NCP shipyard in Sibenik. Moreover, the transaction will have a positive effect for the buyers of industrial cables on the EU cable market where Elka is present due to significant investments by Iskra in development of new technology solutions, it added.

Iska signed on May 22 a deal to buy Elka from Cotra-Elka group for an undisclosed sum.

(Source: www.seenews.com)

The Hungarian OTP Bank Group announced on Monday it had signed a contract to acquire the outright stake in NKBM, Slovenia's second largest bank. The deal is expected to be finalised in the second quarter of next year as the acquirer is waiting approval from relevant regulatory authorities.

Owned by the US fund Apollo (80%) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (20%), NKBM controls 20.5% of the Slovenian market and is the second largest bank in the country.

OTP already owns SKB Banka, which it acquired from France's Societe Generale for EUR 323 million under an agreement signed in 2019. Combined with NKBM, the new bank would control some 29% of the market measured by total assets to leapfrog the current market leader, NLB. The price of the NKBM acquisition remains confidential. The Reuters news agency reported in April that it could be worth nearly a billion euro.

OTP was an early favourite to acquire NKBM, though the business newspaper Finance, which first reported today about the deal, says several other bidders expressed interest as well, among them Erste Group from Austria and Belgium's KBC. NKBM was sold to Apollo and the EBRD in 2016 for EUR 250 million, and NKBM purchased the Abanka bank in mid-2019 for EUR 444 million, when the OTP Bank Group was also in play to buy Abanka.

NKBM and Abanka were among the banks that the state bailed out at the end of 2013 and beginning of 2014 after difficulties brought about by the economic and financial crisis. Slovenia promised to the European Commission, in return to approval of state aid, that it will privatise the banks. In the case of Abanka, the condition was also that it is merged with the Banka Celje bank before privatisation.

NKBM ended 2020 with a net profit of EUR 208.9 million, and its total assets stood at EUR 9.17 billion.

(Source: https://www.total-slovenia-news.com)

Spain’s Glovo goes on a shopping spree: snaps up three of Berlin-based Delivery Hero’s brands: foodpanda, Donesi, and Pauza for €170 million, picks up Slovenia’s Ehrana for dessert

Spanish mutli-category delivery platform Glovo has acquired two of Berlin-based Delivery Hero’s brands for €170 million. Ownership in Romania and Bulgaria’s foodpanda and Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Donesi, and Croatia’s Pauza will all soon change hands. It is expected that the deals in Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia will close within the next few weeks, subject to the customary regulatory approvals and fulfillment of conditions, with the Romanian deal to be completed following approval from the competition authority.

"Delivery Hero has built a clear leading business in the Balkan region in the last couple of years," comments Delivery Hero founder and CEO Niklas Östberg. "However, with a lot of operational priorities on our plate, we believe Glovo would be better positioned to continue building an amazing experience for our customers in this region."

Not quite done shopping yet, Glovo has also announced another acquisition, this time, Slovenia’s local delivery company Ehrana, for an undisclosed fee. This transaction is slated to close within the next few months, but Glovo is already working with Ehrana to design a transition strategy for users, partners, and riders. (Source: https://tech.eu)

Slovenian electrotechnical products manufacturer Iskra said it is acquiring Croatian cable producer Elka from the Cotra-Elka group for an undisclosed sum.

Iskra signed a contract with the Cotra-Elka group for the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Elka on May 22, the Slovenian company said in a statement on Monday.

Iskra reported a record 130 million euro ($159.3 million) in consolidated revenues in 2020 and expects the figure to grow by more than 20% in 2021, Dusan Sesok, Iskra director and majority owner, said in the statement.

Iskra provides intelligent industrial solutions and cutting-edge electrotechnical products. Iskra helps companies to improve existing applications and introduce new technologies in strategic business areas, according to information published on the company's website. (Source: wwww..seenews.com)

Ljubljana – The German software company LeanIX has taken over the Slovenian-US owned Cleanshelf, a leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) management provider. By acquiring the San Francisco-based Cleanshelf, LeanIX will become the leading provider with comprehensive solutions in SaaS management.

"Cleanshelf will integrate its product into the LeanIX portfolio. LeanIX has 300 employees and 400 customers including well known brands such as Adidas, Volkswagen and Dropbox. The company offers software solutions to plan and manage IT landscapes in large companies," Silicon Gardens Fund I, Cleanshelf’s first institutional investor said in a press release on Wednesday.

"Cleanshelf SaaS management and LeanIX’s application portfolio management complement each other perfectly," LeanIX CEO Andre Christ was quoted as saying by his company.

"For large organizations, the new offering increases the level of automation and thus also the data quality of their application portfolio, which is a permanent challenge with traditional EA [enterprise architecture] tools. Smaller and younger companies can now manage their application portfolio even faster, as they can rely on a direct capture of their SaaS landscape without having to go through a lengthy roll-out," said Christ.

Cleanshelf founder and CEO Dušan Omerčević will take a new role of VP of Product SaaS Intelligence & Managing Director of Slovenia, Silicon Gardens Fund I said. (Source: https://sloveniatimes.com)

Czech Republic-based private equity firm ARX Equity Partners has acquired Slovenia’s Instrumentation Technologies (I-Tech), a company that develops instrumentation for data acquisition and signal processing used in scientific particle accelerators, I-Tech said on March 1.

ARX plans to help I-Tech grow organically, said Brian Wardrop, managing partner at ARX. The transaction also includes Red Pitaya, a handheld electronics lab incorporating instruments such as oscilloscopes and signal generators. ARX acquired the company from its founders. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Completion of the transaction is subject to routine closing conditions. As part of the transaction, ARX agreed to partner with the company’s existing management team "ARX is delighted to partner with I-Tech, which is an outstanding example of a highly successful Slovenian entrepreneurial success story. Our primary aim will be to support the I-Tech team in order to grow and develop the company organically," said Wardrop.

I-Tech was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Solkan, Slovenia. Core to the I-Tech strategy is utilising its know-how and R&D capabilities to develop instrumentation for medical proton therapy applications as well as broader industrial markets.

ARX Equity Partners has a 20-year track record supporting the growth and development of mid-sized companies in Central Europe. With more than €300mn raised in four funds, ARX has become a leading private equity firm in its segment in the Central European region.

Polish oil refiner and petrol retailer PKN Orlen plans to analyse the potential acquisition of the 120 filling stations in Slovenia put up for sale by Austria's OMV, Polish media reported. 

"We are analysing all offers that appear in the region. So we will also analyse this one," Polish news agency PAP quoted PKN Orlen board member Patrycja Klarecka as saying on Monday. 

Last week, OMV said it plans to divest its business in Slovenia as part of a 2 billion euro ($2.4 million) asset disposal programme aimed to reduce its gearing ratio. With its limited integration within the downstream oil value chain, the divestment of the business in Slovenia represents a further step in OMV's portfolio optimisation, the Austrian company explained. 

OMV currently operates filling stations under the OMV, Eurotruck, Avanti and Diskont brands in Slovenia.

(Source: www.seenews.com)

Slovenian energy group Petrol has completed the takeover of electricity supplier E3, a subsidiary of state-run power distribution company Elektro Primorska, nearly a year after signing an acquisition agreement.

Petrol signed the deal to buy 100% of E3 for about EUR 15 million in February 2020, after outbidding Slovenian energy group GEN-I and state-owned electricity producer Holding Slovenske Elektrarne (HSE), according to Slovenian media reports.

Mainly an oil products trader, Petrol has been making inroads into other sectors in recent years, such as energy services (ESCO), energy efficiency, and renewable electricity.

The acquisition will increase Petrol’s share in Slovenia’s retail electricity market to 20%

E3, the fourth largest electricity seller in Slovenia, posted EUR 90 million in revenues in 2019. Operating in western Slovenia, it commands an 11% market share in the country, supplying some 15% of household customers, according to local media. According to an earlier report by STA, the acquisition of E3 will increase Petrol’s share in the Slovenian retail electricity market to 20%.

Petrol has pledged to keep all E3 workers for at least five years

Petrol intends to develop E3 operations in the future, while keeping the existing jobs, the company said in an announcement on its website. According to local media, Petrol has pledged not to relocate E3’s headquarters from the city of Nova Gorica or lay off any employees for at least five years. (Source: www.balkangreenenergynews.com)

Germany-based biopharmaceutical and laboratory equipment supplier Sartorius said it closed the 360 million euro ($426 million) acquisition of Slovenian purification technology specialist BIA Separations. The transaction was completed on November 2, after receiving all required approvals, Sartorius said in a statement earlier this week. Of the total purchase price, 240 million euro was paid in cash and 120 million euro in Sartorius Stedim Biotech shares, with both parties additionally agreeing on three tranches of earn-out payments based on performance over the next five financial years.

"Sartorius has been preparing to integrate BIA Separations into the Sartorius Stedim Biotech subgroup so this can now be initiated despite the special conditions prevailing during the pandemic," Sartorius said. It added that BIA is expected to earn sales revenue of some 25 million euro in 2020, and to continue posting double-digit growth in sales in the next few years. BIA's profit margins will be accretive to both the underlying EBITDA margins of Sartorius’ Bioprocess Solutions segment and of the overall Sartorius Group. Yet, the acquisition is not expected to have any material impact on Sartorius’ 2020 results. "BIA's portfolio is highly complementary to Sartorius. We are thus creating an excellent offering for the manufacturing of gene therapies and other advanced therapies, and are pleased to welcome 120 new employees," Sartorius CEO, Joachim Kreuzburg, said in the statement.

Founded in 1998, BIA Separations develops and manufactures market-leading products for purification and analysis of large biomolecules, such as viruses, plasmids and mRNA, which are used in cell and gene therapies and other advanced therapies. The company is based in Ajdovscina, western Slovenia.

The Sartorius group has been growing by double digits on average annually and has been regularly expanding its portfolio by acquisitions of complementary technologies, according to the statement. Its sales revenue totalled 1.83 billion euro in 2019, when the group employed more than 9,000 people at its 60 manufacturing and sales sites, serving customers around the globe. (Source: seenews.com)

In the survey, largely based on statistics from last and previous years and partly on a survey of managers in March and April this year, Slovenia ranked 36th in terms of economic performance (33rd last year) and 38th in terms of government efficiency (39thlast year), in terms of business efficiency it was in 39th place (last year 40th) and in terms of infrastructure it ranked 29th (last year 27th).

In terms of economic performance, Slovenia performed well in 2018, when it had excellent export results and faster economic growth, but slipped last and this year, among other things due to a slowdown in economic growth and decline in international investment, Sonja Uršič from the Institute for Economic Research said at the press conference in Ljubljana. 

In terms of government efficiency, the institutional framework has improved compared to other countries, while in terms of public finances the ranking is worse than last year, which is due to the improvement in other countries and not to the deterioration at home. In the survey, managers gave a poorer assessment of, among other things, the legislative framework regarding social security contributions, unemployment and work, labour taxation and the management of state-owned enterprises. 

In terms of business efficiency, Slovenia has improved its position in terms of finances the most. Slovenia ranks relatively high, among other things, in terms of the share of women among managers, the efficiency of small and medium-sized enterprises and employee training, while survey ratings are low in terms of apprenticeships, the effectiveness of supervisory boards and the perception of managers' credibility. (Source: www.investslovenia.org)

Bia Separations, a biotechnology company based in Ajdovščina, is to expand its production facilities in Ajdovščina and Italy's Gorizia. The company's investment plans to launch production in the US have been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, however Bia Separations will go ahead with them as soon as possible.

The company, a world leader in the development of purification processes for biologics, in particular for gene therapy, will expand its production due to increased demand.

The European Medicines Agency has recently recommended granting a conditional marketing authorisation in the EU for a gene therapy medication used to treat spinal muscular atrophy. Helping produce the medication, Bia Separations will have to step up its production capacities.

Related: Biotech Firm Bia Separations Biotech Expands in Slovenia, US & Canada

Moreover, a major investment project planned for the US, the company's main market, will be realised as quickly as possible, Aleš Štrancar, Bia Separations CEO, has told the STA.

The investment has been delayed for at least a few months due to extreme circumstances and air travel restrictions, however there is still plenty of time for its realisation since a production facility in the US is planned to be completed by the end of 2023. (Source: www.total-slovenia-news.com)

LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), June 22  - The Slovenian competition authority AVK said it has approved the acquisition of Slovenian car parts retailer Bartog by its bigger Croatian peer Tokic.

The concentration is line with competition rules, AVK said in a statement on Friday, without providing any financial details.

According to earlier reports of Slovenian media, the merger will create one of the largest companies in this business in the region, since Tokic is the biggest car parts trader in Croatia.

Tokic is a family-owned company established in 1990. It has more than 100 outlets across Croatia and in neighbouring Bosnia, employing over 400 people.

Trebnje-based Bartog has been present for more than 25 years on the Slovenian market where it is among the leading retailers of tyres, rims, spare parts, accessories, motor oils and lubricants, operating 36 retail shops all over the country. It also provides all kinds of car servicing. (Source: www.seenews.com)

Slovenian insurers Zavarovalnica Triglav [LJE:ZVTG] and Sava Re [LJE:POSR] have completed the acquisition of local health care company Diagnosticni Center Bled through their joint venture company ZTSR, Zavarovalnica Triglav said on Thursday.

"From the point of view of Triglav Group, this investment is part of its regular activities of managing its extensive investment portfolio and has no significant impact on its composition," Zavarovalnica Triglav said in a statement with the Ljubljana bourse.

"The Group pursues a somewhat conservative investment policy. In this context, it actively adjusts the proportions of each type of investment, taking into account the situation and opportunities, such as investments in the market of private healthcare service providers," the statement added.

The price of the deal was not disclosed.

Back in August 2019, Zavarovalnica Triglav said it signed a share purchase agreement with Sava Re, under which the former has the option to acquire a 40% stake in Diagnosticni Center Bled, representing 50% of the voting rights.

ZTSR is a 50/50 joint venture of Zavarovalnica Triglav and Sava Re.

Zavarovalnica Triglav shares closed 3.57% lower at 24.3 euro ($26.2) on Thursday, while Sava Re shares lost 9.21% to 13.8 euro on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. (Source: www.seenews.com)

Energy company Petrol will acquire E3, the subsidiary of the power distributor Elektro Primorska which is one of the largest electricity sellers in the country. The acquisition would bring Petrol's share on the electricity retail market up to 20%.

According to Tuesday's report in Finance, the sale has been approved by the supervisors of Elektro Primorska, and the contract is expected to be signed by the end of February.

Petrol responded with a posting on the website of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange saying it had been chosen as the most favourable bidder to buy E3 and was continuing talks on the company's acquisition. (Source: www.total-slovenia-news.com)

Slovenia's government has completed the sale of its 100% interest in the country's third largest lender, Abanka, to the the second biggest - Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor (NKBM), for 444 million euro ($489 million), Nova KBM said.

"Nova KBM intends to fully merge and integrate the two entities into one, creating a strong, nationwide bank. The process is expected to occur gradually in several phases, under the supervision of the regulatory authorities," Nova KBM said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The merged bank will have assets in excess of €8.5 billion and over 1000 banking touchpoints, far more than any other bank in the country, due to the strategic partnership with the Post of Slovenia," the statement reads.

In June 2019, Slovenia’s sovereign holding company, SDH, acting on behalf of the government, signed an agreement with Nova KBM for the sale of 100% of Abanka for a total consideration of 511 million euro, including a dividend in the amount of 67 million euro which was paid out to the seller in May, prior to the signing of the agreement, SDH said at the time.

In July, rating agency Fitch said that the merger will create the second-largest bank in Slovenia with a market share of around 22.5% (based on end-2018 data), only marginally smaller than the domestic operations of Slovenia's largest bank Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB). 

Nova KBM is owned by investment funds affiliated with and managed by Apollo Global Management (80%) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (20%).

In 2013, the Slovenian government had to step in and recapitalise Abanka with 348 million euro whilst also seizing control of the bank. In October 2015, Abanka and its state-owned peer Banka Celje merged. Banka Celje ceased to exist as an independent legal entity, whilst Abanka as the acquiring company and universal legal successor entered all legal relations concerning its peer. (Source: www.seenews.com)

Ljubljana, 23 December (STA) - Alfi, a private equity fund, has acquired a majority stake in Prevent & Deloza, Slovenia's leading maker of protective garments, for an undisclosed sum, a move it said would improve the company's development prospects and strengthen innovation.

The private equity fund purchased an 80% stake, with the rest remaining in the hands of the existing owner, the company said on Monday.

Prevent & Deloza has a 150-strong workforce and specialises in protective clothing, including for the army and police. It posted half a million euro net profit for 2018 on sales worth EUR 8.2 million.

Alfi is an asset management firm that specialises in distressed assets and private debt. It founded a private equity arm earlier this year with EUR 50 million investments each from the state-owned SID Banka and and the European Investment Fund.

Publicly available information suggests this is its second private equity acquisition after it acquired in July a majority stake in the Mengeš-based Trival Antene, one of the world's leading manufacturers of antennas and antenna masts. (Source: www.investslovenia.org)

Hungary's OTP Bank said it has completed the financial closure of its acquisition of 99.73% interest in the Slovenian subsidiary of Societe Generale Group, SKB Banka.  

With the acquisition, OTP has also become owner of other local subsidiaries of SKB Banka, it said in a press release on Friday.

Following the transaction, OTP Group is already present in 12 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the group noted.

OTP signed in May an agreement with French banking group Societe Generale for the purchase of SKB Banka and its subsidiaries SKB Leasing and SKB Leasing Select.

SKB Banka is the 4th largest bank in Slovenia with a market share of nearly 9%, OTP noted.

In August, SKB Group said it booked a consolidated net profit of 34.2 million euro ($38.2 million) in the first half of 2019, up 40% year-on-year. The profit growth was achieved by improved business performance, reflected in a rise of 18% in gross operating income to 31.3 million euro, and high reversal of provisions for non-performing exposures, SKB said in a filing to the Ljubljana Stock Exchange.

Earlier this year, OTP Bank wrapped up the acquisition of Societe Generale's units in Albania and Bulgaria. In February, OTP also signed agreements to acquire Societe Generale's units in Moldova, Montenegro and North Macedonia. (Source: www.seenews.com)

Ljubljana, 12 December (STA) - Slovenian companies Saop and Mit Informatika, which specialise in enterprise software, have signed a business combination agreement that creates a new major player on the Slovenian IT market that they say will be better equipped to compete with global software providers.

Saop, founded in 1987 and since 2016 a member of the Czech group Solitea, has acquired the smaller Mit Informatika outright for an undisclosed sum.

"The clients of both companies will reap long-term benefits from the combination. By expanding the team, we will be better equipped to offer clients a long-term and stable partnership," Saop director Petra Šinigoj was quoted as saying in a press release.

Mit Informatika had sales of EUR 1.1 million last year and a net profit of almost EUR 200,000. The much larger Saop had sales of EUR 6.3 million in 2017, the latest year for which data are publicly available, and a net profit in excess of half a million euro.

Saop has subsidiaries in Croatia and Serbia and Mit Informatika director Marjeta Povalej said the deal paved the way for expansion of the company's operations to the two markets.

Saop specialises in accounting software and says it counts a quarter of accounting firms and a third of schools in Slovenia among its clients.

Mit Informatika is a specialist for software applications for the manufacturing sector and construction. (Source: www.investslovenia.org)

Telecoms equipment maker Iskratel generated EUR 4.02 million in net profit at group level in 2018, a 21.2% increase on the year before. Looking to keep up with the latest trends, the company has announced changes to its organisation and business model, while it is also looking for a strategic partner.

Iskratel's boss Željko Puljić has told the STA that a structured search for a strategic partner is under way. He did not disclose any details, but he did confirm that unsuccessful talks had been held with the German venture capital fund Bavaria Industries Group.

The Kranj-based group recorded EUR 104 million in sales revenue in 2018, a 17.2% improvement. Investment amounted to EUR 1.58 million, with roughly a third of going for equipment and slightly less for licences.

The company expects that hardware sales will decline in the future and that software and services will make up the bulk of the business. It is thus announcing changes to its portfolio, organisation and business model, a modernisation of the market strategy and changes in the human resources segment and in corporate culture.

The projected sales revenue for this year is EUR 109 million, while net profit is expected to amount to EUR 3.2 million. Slightly under EUR 2 million are projected to go for investment.

Iskratel had a 866-strong workforce at the end of 2018, while it expects to end this year with 904 workers.

The company is worker-owned, but its strategy calls a strategic partner as "an opportunity for further development and growth". (Source: www.investslovenia.org)

Prague, 28 October (STA) - The Czech investment group PPF, owned by Czech billionaire Petr Kellner, has signed an agreement on the takeover of Central European Media Enterprises (CME), which also owns Slovenia's leading television network group Pro Plus. Media reports put the total value of the deal at EUR 1.89 billion.

PPF, which still needs nods from CME's shareholders, the European Commission and individual national regulators, said it would not significantly interfere in the operations of CME.

The CME fund, which is in the majority ownership of US telecommunication giant AT&T, has broadcast operations in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Its Slovenian operation Pro Plus owns two popular TV channels POP TV and Kanal A, along with Brio and Kino, the pay-per-view service Voyo, as well as 24ur.com, one of the leading news portals in the country.

PPF, which expects the approval process to take several months, said BNP Paribas in Societe Generale had acted as financing advisers.

The fund has secured EUR 1.15 billion for the takeover, including from BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole CIB, Credit Suisse, HSBC, Societe Generale and Unicredit. Media reports suggest the total value of the deal is EUR 1.89 billion.

CME explained that the takeover agreement had receivied unanimous support from the the fund's management board and that a green light for the deal had also been announced by AT&T. It expects the deal to be wrapped up in mid-2020.

CME became part AT&T after the conglomerate took over another media and telecommunication giant Time Warner. AT&T directly owns 64% of CME stock, while it controls 75%.

PPF meanwhile says it is investing in different market segments, including financial services, telecommunication, biotechnology, real estate and machine engineering. It is active in Europe, North America and Asia. PPF's total assets exceeded EUR 45 billion at the end of 2018.

CME tried to sell Pro Plus at the end of last year to the Dutch-owned United Group, which already owns telecommunications provider Telemach in Slovenia.

What would have been the biggest media merger fell through at the start of this year, with CME giving up on the sale, which had also been marked by protracted proceedings with the Slovenian competition watchdog. (Source: www.investslovenia.org)

Ljubljana, 02 October (STA) - The Emil Frey Group is buying the Slovenian car dealerships Autocommerce, Avto Triglav and AC-Mobil, which are part of the holding company ACH 2, with the value of the deal not disclosed. The Swiss car dealership needs to get the approval of the European Commission to finalise the deal.

The deal has been confirmed for the business newspaper Finance by ACH 2, the holding company formed after the division of assets among the owners of the former ACH holding.

The paper reported in July that three executives controlling almost 90% of ACH 2 were about to sell the car dealership business of the holding but at the time only Autocommerce was reported to be on sale.

According to unofficial information, the possible figure mentioned at the time was EUR 30 million.

Autocommerce, which distributes cars of the Mercedes-Benz brand in Slovenia, last year generated EUR 169 million in revenue and less than EUR 2 million in profit.

Avto Triglav operated with similar figures in 2018, while AC Mobil generated EUR 23 million in revenue and EUR 600,000 in profit.

The Emil Frey Group, the Swiss dealership for Jaguar, Lexus and other luxury marques, owns Mercedes-Benz car dealerships in Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, among others.

It is already present in Slovenia, owning two companies distributing cars of the French automotive companies Peugeot and Citroen.

23 September 2019 - Pošta Slovenije, the state-owned postal operator, plans to acquire 72% of the logistics company Intereuropa at EUR 1.45 per share. It is to purchase 9,168,425 regular and 10,675,965 priority shares, which totals EUR 28.75 million, Intereuropa says on the web site of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange.

This is in line with the contract that Pošta Slovenije made with a consortium of sellers, comprising SID Banka, NLB, NKBM, Gorenjska Banka, SKB Banka and Banka Intesa Sanpaolo, on 10 May.

The takeover was green-lighted by the Competition Protection Agency at the beginning of the month.

There was much speculation about the value of the deal, with the business daily Finance reporting of a EUR 40 million range, or EUR 100 million together with debt. But the amount revealed today is closer to the stock market value of the 72% stake, which was estimated at roughly EUR 30 million at the beginning of the month.

Pošta Slovenije is now expected to publish a takeover bid for the outstanding stock in line with competition law. The price per share is also set at EUR 1.45. Last Friday, a share of Intereuropa was worth EUR 2.54 on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. (Source: www.total-slovenia-news.com)

LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), August 26 (SeeNews) – France-based healthcare service provider Quantel Medical, part of European leader in laser technologies Lumibird group, has acquired Slovenian company Optotek Medical for an undisclosed sum, Lumibird said on Monday.

"This acquisition marks the culmination of the longstanding collaboration established between the two companies through OEM [original equipment manufacturer] contracts to develop and supply devices for Quantel Medical’s range of anterior chamber lasers," Euronext Paris-listed Lumibird said in a statement.  

The acquisition of the Slovenian company specialized in developing optical and laser solutions for medical applications will enable Quantel Medical to further strengthen its research and development expertise for medical lasers and its industrial integration with an additional ISO 13485-certified production unit based in Ljubljana, Lumibird noted.

"The co-developments by Quantel Medical and Optotek Medical over nearly 20 years have made it possible to bring innovative solutions to the market for the treatment of secondary cataracts and glaucoma," Quantel Medical’s manager, Jean Marc Gendre, said in the statement.

The industrial, technological and commercial synergies between the two companies will make it possible to further strengthen the competitiveness of the ophthalmic lasers already released, while accelerating the development of new products, the statement reads.

(Source: www.seenews.com)

ZAGREB, August 8, 2019 - Slovenia's bus transportation provider Nomago, which on Thursday took over the Brebus Integral company in the eastern town of Brežice near the border with Croatia, has stated that it is set to take over 30% of Croatia's bus transport market.

Nomago, which introduces itself as "a travel and mobility provider with over 600 passenger buses operating in the region between Venice and Dubrovnik", intends to take over at least 30% of Croatia's market according to its medium-term plans.

It has now the two branch offices in Croatia: one in the capital city of Zagreb and the other in the coastal city of Pula.

The Nomago director Sandi Brataševec said today that the acquisition of Brebus Integral was aimed also at strengthening Nomago's presence in the region.

The company says on its web site that it "offers full travel and mobility service – from airport transfers, flights, accommodation, travel insurance, travel packages to charter buses and VIP transfers."

(Source: www.total-croatia-news.com)

Ljubljana - The state's 100% stake in Abanka, Slovenia's third largest bank, has been sold to NKBM bank for EUR 444 million, Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) said on Thursday after signing the sale and purchase agreement with the buyer.

The transaction is to be completed by the end of the year pending regulatory approval, SSH said, adding that the deal satisfies "all of the commitments given by the Republic of Slovenia to the European Commission with regard to state aid."

The purchase consideration, within the EUR 400-500 million range forecast by most analysts, means Slovenia has not entirely recouped the EUR 781 million cost of recapitalising Abanka and Banka Celje, which was later merged with Abanka, in 2013.

But SSH said the state had received the purchase consideration as well as EUR 178m in dividends in 2016-2018 plus proceeds from the sale of assets that had been transferred to the bad bank. "It has been estimated that these inflows will exceed the value of the [bailout] measures," SSH said.

It said NKBM had been picked as the best bidder in a competitive process that attracted a wide range of potential financial and strategic investors.

(Source: www.sloveniatimes.com)

Slovenia's economy continues strong with the latest data showing that the GDP expanded at an annual rate of 3.2% in real terms in the first quarter of the year and by as much as 3.7% when adjusted for season and working days.

Although growth in real terms slowed down from the 4.1% recorded in the previous quarter, seasonally adjusted rate of growth ran slightly above the 3.6% recorded in the final quarter of 2018. Seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter growth was 0.8%, data from the Statistics Office (SURS) show. Contrary to expectations by analysts, the slowdown was not provoked by external demand as the growth of exports gathered pace compared to the previous two quarters, but rather by a slowdown in domestic expenditure.

Domestic expenditure grew by 1.8% year-on-year in the first quarter, the lowest rate of growth in at least three years, with the biggest impact coming from a 1.3% decline in gross capital formation, SURS official Romana Korenič told reporters in Ljubljana on Friday. Changes in inventories had a markedly negative impact on GDP growth, as much as 2.1 percentage points. Gross fixed capital formation increased by 9.3%, which is on a par with the previous quarters. Construction investment expanded by as much as 18.1% but investment in machinery and equipment slowed down to 4%.

Businesses reduced inventories by 2.1%, the reason for which is not clear yet. Korenič said a potential reason could be a drop in orders, although business sentiment data or export growth do not suggest that. Domestic expenditure was thus fuelled only by final consumption expenditure, which grew by 2.9%, a somewhat higher rate than in the previous three quarters.

Driven mainly by an increase in public sector pay at the beginning of the year, government final consumption rose by 3.6%, whereas household consumption increased by 2.6%, however Korenič said that the latter contributed more to the final consumption growth than government spending.

The statisticians noted a slowdown in household expenditure for durable goods, in particular cars. However, daily purchases of goods such as food, beverages, fuel and some types of services increased.

After a somewhat lower growth of exports in the third and fourth quarters of last year (5.4% and 6.8%), exports expanded by 7.6% year-on-year in the first quarter. Imports increased at a slower pace (6.4%), which resulted in high external trade surplus. This time it contributed 1.6 percentage points to GDP growth. Employment keeps increasing but with signs of a moderation. The number of people in work in the first quarter rose by 2.6% year-on-year to 1,026,547.Half of the new jobs were created in manufacturing and construction, with livelier hiring also observed in transport, trade, and professional, scientific and technical activities.

Running at 3.2%, growth in real terms was the slowest since the final quarter of 2016 when it ran at 3%.

Battery maker Tab Mežica has confirmed plans for up to EUR 25 million-worth of investments into its North Macedonian subsidiary Tab MAK, located in the town of Probištip. The idea is to expand the production of industrial and starter batteries there, Tab told the STA.

The company said that the size of the workforce in Probištip, where Tab has been generating EUR 60 million in annual revenue and operating with a profit, would increase from 414 to about 500 as a result.

The news was reportedly already mentioned on Tuesday in Ljubljana by North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who paid an official visit.

Tab Mežica is one of the most successful companies in Slovenia's northern region of Koroška, having generated EUR 280.5 million in sales revenue and a EUR 26.5 million net profit in 2018.

The revenue and profit figures for the group, which has production facilities in Slovenia and North Macedonia, were EUR 336.4 million and EUR 31.6 million, respectively.

The privately-owned company was being eyed last year by South African battery maker Metair Investments, which however pulled out in August. Speculation about a potential sale of Tab was revived last month, but the company has not wished to comment.

Source: https://www.investslovenia.org

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has placed the project to build a new railway line between the port of Koper and Divača among the projects it would finance with loans. The state-owned company managing the project said that the EIB would provide a EUR 250m loan.

Announcing the news, 2TDK said that it had submitted the application for a EUR 250m loan to the bank last May.

"Negotiations between the EIB and 2TDK followed between October and January, on whose basis the investment bank will make a final assessment of the project and expectedly send it for confirmation by the board of governors in April."

Infrastructure Minister Alenka Bratušek, whose ministry is responsible for the project, welcomed the news, saying that the bank had recognised the quality and importance of the project.

"I'm happy that the things are moving in the right direction," the ministry quoted Bratušek, who added that the lengthy negotiations with the EIB had obviously produced a positive result.

"The decision is not final yet, but the placement on the EIB list means that the bank too has recognised the quality and importance of this project, which I believed in and expected throughout," the minister added.

In addition to government funding, the investment plan for the project also envisages loans from international financial institutions and the state-owned SID export and development bank, EU grants and loans from commercial banks.

The plan values the project at EUR 968m at current prices, but together with a reserve for unexpected works and interest the total price tag will be EUR 1.2bn.

The railway will be only 27 kilometres long, but the huge cost is attributed to the high number of tunnels and bridges on the tricky karst terrain.

(Source: www.investslovenia.org)

Company RJ Finance wishes to all its business partners and other stakeholders successful 2019!

Ljubljana, 14 November - NLB shares were listed on the Ljubljana and London stock exchanges on Wednesday, bringing the sale of 65% of Slovenia's leading bank via an initial public offering (IPO) to an end. By selling NLB, Slovenia has partly met its commitment to the European Commission to sell 75% minus one share in exchange for a bailout in late 2013.

The Ukrainian holding MHP has announced it is seeking to acquire Slovenia's leading food processing company, poultry group Perutnina Ptuj, currently held by the Russian-owned Slovenian steel group SIJ.

MHP issued the announcement via the communication agency Taktik after having notified the Slovenian Protection Agency of the concentration.

The release described MHP as a vertically integrated company and a leading poultry producer in Ukraine with operations in the Netherlands and Slovakia, and a sales and distribution office in the United Arab Emirates. MHP sells around 60% of its poultry products in Ukraine and around 40% to more than 60 countries across the world, the release reads.

The release notes that MHP invested some EUR 1.5bn into greenfield projects in the past decade, it also notes "a strong and experienced management team, and an integrated business model". MHP expects the acquisition will add value to the company and strengthen its position as a global player, while Perutnina Ptuj would obtain a strategic long-term investor.

"Perutnina Ptuj has a strong brand and significant share of poultry value-added products, which MHP is ready to support over the coming years through investment and further development," the release says.

MHP committed to improve the quality of Perutnina Ptuj's production base to meet the highest EU standards. It said the cooperation would bring direct benefits to local farmers and employees and would have a positive effect on the poultry industry in the Balkan region in general. According to the online edition of the newspaper Finance, MHP is owned by Ukrainian billionaire Yuriy Kosiuk, who was mentioned as a potential buyer of Perutnina Ptuj four years ago. At the time, he visited several poultry farms in Slovenia as well as Perutnina's production centres. His visit was organised by the Swiss bank UBS, which was looking for an investor to bring fresh capital to Perutnina.

Just recently, the news portal Siol reported that Perutnina Ptuj was to be acquired by the French LDC group, Europe's largest poultry company. The report said that SIJ, which acquired the poultry group three years ago, was forced into selling by its creditors, primarily the Russian state-owned bank Sberbank and individual bond buyers.

(Source: https://www.investslovenia.org)

Škofja Loka - Knauf, the multinational whose insulation division includes Knauf Insulation Škofja Loka, has announced the construction of a new factory in Malaysia. The investment, estimated at EUR 120m, is also expected to benefit Knauf's Slovenian subsidiary, which is responsible for sales in that part of the world.

What is more, Škofja Loka is the base of the global development team that will be responsible for the technology at Knauf's Malaysian glass wool plant, Knauf Insulation Škofja Loka director Tomaž Lanišek has told the STA.

"The additional capacities mean fresh wind in our sails and additional possibilities to increase sales and supply the buyers we've not been able to supply so far due to too much demand," Lanišek added about the plant, whose launch is scheduled for 2020.

Knauf Insulation Škofja Loka has a tradition of 60 years, having developed out of what was known as Termo before the 2006 takeover by the German firm Knauf.

It employed around 425 people at the end of last year, when it generated EUR 117m in revenue and operated with a profit.

While Lanišek is hoping for an overhaul of the company's oldest production line in Škofja Loka, which is older than 25 years, an investment is currently under way into an education centre for central and SE Europe, which is to open this autumn.  (Source: http://www.sloveniatimes.com)

After receiving three binding bids from Asian companies, Slovenian home appliances maker Gorenje picked Hisense as their strategic partner. The Chinese megabrand offered 12 euros per share.

After reviewing the three binding bids, Gorenje asked two of the bidders to raise their stakes. Gorenje then opted for Hisense as their strategic partner, as the latter offered 12 euros per share. The offer is subject to a minimum acceptance condition of 50% plus one share.

Gorenje said that a team of key shareholders as well as a financial and a legal expert helped them review the bids. Three criteria were considered in the selection process: strategic elements, the feasibility of the transaction, and the price per share.

LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), April 17 - Slovenia's economy will expand by 4.0% in 2018, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday, raising its economic growth forecast for the country from 2.5% projected in October. Slovenia's economic growth is projected to slow to 3.2% in 2019, the IMF said in the April edition of its World Economic Outlook report.

According to the lender, the country closed 2017 with a growth of 5.0%. Slovenia's average annual inflation is seen at 1.7% this year and 2.0% in 2019, following a growth of 1.4% in 2017. In October, the IMF predicted the country's consumer prices to rise 1.8% in 2018. The country's current account balance is seen at a surplus of 5.7% of GDP this year and 5.2% next year, the IMF said. Slovenia ended 2017 with a current account surplus of 6.5% of the GDP. Slovenia's unemployment rate is seen falling to 5.9% this year and further to 5.5% next year, from 6.8% in 2017. (Source: seenews.com)

On Wednesday, Kras, a major meat-processing company best known for its pršut air-dried ham, has been sold to Jata Emona after having run into trouble due to debt. The owner of Kras, company Brinjevka, sighned a sales contract with Jata Emona and from now on, Kras will be a new member of the Jata Group.

According to unofficial information, Jata Group has paid four million for the acquisition, the first part of the purchase price has already been transferred to Sežana. With the acquisition, the new owner sees the advantages in strengthening the group's food processing division and the differentiation of food production.

Slovenian white goods manufacturer Gorenje [LJE:GRVG] said it has received four non-binding offers from potential Asian strategic partners, all of them active in the household appliances industry. Gorenje will review the non-binding offers on March 13 and release the next update on the process by March 15, it said in a filing to the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. 

The company said it will not release the names of the potential partners with whom it has signed confidentiality agreements. "Following the assessment of the received non-binding offers from a strategic perspective, certain prospective partners will be invited to participate in the due diligence phase of the process," Gorenje added.

During the due diligence phase, prospective partners will be provided with additional information including access to a virtual data room of Gorenje Group, selected site visits to Gorenje Group facilities and meetings with top management. In November, Gorenje appointed Italy's Rothschild as financial advisor in its search for a strategic partner.

Gorenje said earlier it hopes that with the help of a strategic partner it can pursue the growth of business, strengthen brand power, access prime distribution channels, accelerate product innovation and business digitalisation.

In November 2016, Japan's Panasonic decided not to increase its stake of 10.74% in Gorenje.

Source: https://seenews.com

The surplus in trade in January reached 36.7 million euros. The value of Slovenian exports increased by 13.6 percent at the annual level, to EUR 2.39 billion, while imports increased by 12.5 percent to EUR 2.35 billion.

The surplus in trade in goods was created in January for the fifth consecutive year, reaching 36.7 million euros this year. In January 2018, the value of exports and imports was higher than the average values ​​of monthly exports and imports last year. In January, the value of exports was higher by 1.7% and the value of imports by 2.5%, according to the published data of the statistical office.

In January, Slovenia exported goods worth EUR 1.9 billion to the European Union, up 15.1 percent from January last year, from which it imported goods worth EUR 1.8 billion, representing an annual increase of 7.8 percent growth. The January surplus in trade in trade with the Member States of the Union amounted to EUR 66.3 million and was the highest in the last two years.

In non-EU countries, Slovenia exported goods worth EUR 0.5 billion in January, an increase of 8.2 percent over January 2017. Imports from these countries increased by 32.2 percent annually, half a billion euros of goods. "The main reason for such an increase in imports is a one-off major transaction from the group of power machines and devices," the statistical office said.

Family Office Real Estate Management / Upravljanje zasebnega & družinskega nepremičninskega premoženja

Slovenia's annual inflation rate rose to 1.7% in December, driven mainly by higher prices of food and petroleum products, the Statistics Office reported on Friday. The annual inflation rate was driven by costlier food (+3.1%) and petroleum products, each contributing 0.5 percentage points. Liquid fuel prices increased by 13.4%, diesel prices by 10.6% and petrol prices by 6.1%. Of food, prices of fresh fruit increased the most, as much as 12.4%, followed by prices of meat (+6.5%).

Also much costlier than a year ago is butter (+20.9%), olive oil (8.5%) and other milk products (+5.8%). A further 0.2 percentage points was added to annual inflation by 4.8% higher tobacco prices. On the other hand, annual inflation was kept down by 2.7% lower prices of motor cars, which contributed 0.2 percentage points to lower inflation. At the monthly level consumer prices were on average the same as in the previous month. Measured with the harmonised index of consumer prices, the EU standard, Slovenia's annual inflation ran at 1.9% and the monthly rate at 0.1% in December.

The company operating the Krvavec ski resort north of the capital Ljubljana has been sold to Alpska investicijska družba, an investment firm, as tool maker Union continued divesting non-core assets as part of a debt restructuring agreement with banks.

Unior said the transaction would be completed after several suspensive conditions have been fulfilled, including clearance from the creditors. The value of the transaction involving 98.6% of RTC Krvavec stock has not been disclosed.Unior acquired the debt-ridden RTC Krvavec in 2004 for about half a million euros, a transaction that made sense given that the company also owns the Rogla ski resort on Pohorje and the Terme Zreče spa.

Its tourism holding has been seen as a potential drag on the planned sale of the company by the state, which is by far the biggest shareholder through the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (39.4%) and the KAD fund (5.5%). In November Unior spun off its tourism division into a new company called Unitour in a bid to facilitate the divestment. Unior posted group revenue of EUR 180.7m in January-September, up almost a tenth over the year before. Net profit rose by a fifth to EUR 13.4m.

One of the largest medical wholesalers in Slovenia, Salus published takeover intention about purchase of majority ownership stake in its pier Sanolabor. Salus has over EUR 200 million of annual revenues and profit in the range of EUR 4 million. Sanolabor is roughly one quarter of the size of its potential acquirere. 

Slovenian Gross domestic product in Q2 of 2017 increased for 4,4 percent. Without seasonality with same period of 2016 increased for very solid 5,2 precents.

Serbian video game distributor ComputerLand has become the leading provider in Slovenia after acquiring two local distributors within the space of a month.

The Belgrade-based ComputerLand via Iris-Mega company acquired Videotop skupina in early June and Colby in mid-July to consolidate its hold on the Slovenian market.

White goods manufacturer Gorenje successfuly issued for EUR 40 million coupon bonds, with  maturity of 11 months and annual interest rate of 1,30%. That is lowest interest rate in the Financing costs of Gorenje.

Today was completed JV project Turvac bewteen Slovenian company Turna d.o.o. and Belgium company Recticel NV. Every JV partner will own the 50% company with Inscripted Capital of EUR 3 million. Company RJ Finance was advising the company Turna d.o.o.

Company RJ Finance wishes to all its business partners and other stakeholders sucessful 2017!

Japanese paint manufacturer Kansai Paint paid EUR 572 million 100% stake of Helios Group. The Austrian consortium Ring International acqured Helios from Slovenian state three years ago for EUR 145 million and restructured the company and substantialy increase its profitability.

On Friday was closed the deal bewteen the shareholders of Gopek d.d. and investor Tecnopool SpA. Italian company acquired 99,99% of shares of the Bakery Equipment Manufacturer from Slovenia. Gopek Group have annual turnover of EUR 18 million and net profit of EUR 1 million. Company RJ Finance was advising shareholders of Gopek d.d.

At the end of July, Gorenje with considerable delay, announced that they allowed the Japanese Panasonic to carry out due diligence until the end of September. Panasonic could then also decided to offer to increase ownerhsip stake, currently owns almost 11 percent of Gorenje shares and is the third largest shareholder. Speculation about a possible takeover amplified Gorenje shares, which grew to EUR 7.7, which is the highest value in the last five years. Two weeks after the news, the investors enthusiasm subsided. A share price nevertheless remains more expensive than before disclosing the information. Panasonic ownerhsip share can be increased only with the consent of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board until 2018.

With Panasonic, Gorenje expects higher capital sustainability, new markets, synergies in purchasing, greater utilization of production capacity, new technology and improved positioning kitchen appliances and the possibility of penetrating Asian markets with its own products, such as premium brand Asko. Gorenje estimated that synergies in the business cooperation between the two companies could be more than EUR 100 million per year. Last year Gorenje realized exclusive project in Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur OPUS, in which they equipped 357 luxury apartments. Panasonic is also active in the housing market in Asian countries: their company PanaHome is building technologically equipped apartments in six Asian countries. By 2020, Gorenje seeks to achieve a return on equity of about 7 %. For comparison, last year Electrolux and Whirlpool had a 15 % return on equity and more than 20 % achived Turkish Arcelic. Last year, Gorenje increased share of funding for research and development to 3.2 % of revenue.

The world's most famous Panasonic's investment is with Tesla in giant factory, which will produce batteries for homes, energy companies and automobile. The factory will cost 4 to 5 billion dollars, Panasonic will invest $ 1.6 billion. Until 2019 Panasonic is forecasting new acquisitions in the automotive field. Panasonic's strategy in relation to the trademarks is to stick to the golden rule: regularly check what is the value of preserving brands to maximize the company's value and then decide on any additional investment in brands. Their brands are PanaHome in the field of residential construction with brands like Anchor, Viko, FirePro and Lighting Solutions. In the field of electronics they have Technics brand, Kok brand and a few others.

Municipalities co-founders of the institute Maribor pharmacy, renounced its share in the pharmaceutical company Marifarm. Therefore Marifarm came under the auspices of NKBM that has in return slightly decreased repayment of the loan, which Farmadent will have to repay. The bank would be only temporary owner of the company, until it finds a buyer. NKBM earlier this month published a tender for the purchase of EUR 17.2 million receivables from Marifarm, which has received two binding offers. According to reports of Večer offer submitted Ukrainian company Arterium and London society Advinia Health Care.

It's been two years since Croatian conglomerate Agrokor took over Mercator. Now, Agrokor is deciding between food sector and entire group. Most interesting is food sector, especially in the US, the Middle and Far East, and particularly in China. In both scenarios, owner of the Agrokor Group Mr. Ivica Todorić would give up a minority ownership share, 49 percent. IPO of the entire group is less likely to occur, mainly because the consolidation of commercial part, therefore, Mercator and Konzum, is still running. They combine processes, logistics, IT and purchasing. And this will take time. This year Agrokor already reprogrammed for EUR 350 million of debt at the Russian Sberbank and  planned by twice as much until the end of the year.

Desicion about IPO is related to deleverage of Agrokor. Namely, Agrokor Group (together with Mercator) has EUR 3 billion of debt. Their target is to get around EUR 1 billion from public offer. Mercator improved his operating, but there is till a variaton of sales revenues, since private consumption still has not been strengthened. Last year Mercator, for the first time in five years, again ended up with a profit. Suppliers are now paid within the period and Mercator is now even sponsoring and advertising.

Collector and Gorenje Projekt are new owners of the land on the Frankopanska street in Ljubljana, across Tivoli Park, where once stood the factory Slovenijavina. They became owners trought company K Tivoli with purchase of receivables to companies Energoplan of DUTB. On this location, Kolektor's construction company Kolektor Koling and Gorenje Projekt (half owned by Gorenje) will build a residential complex Belle vie Tivoli with 195 apartments. The project is worth EUR 40 million. Construction of the complex is expected to last two years. The average price per square meter will be, as they say in Kolektor, EUR 2.100 (plus VAT).

Kolektor Koling as a part of Kolektor Group from Idrija, bought 97% ownership stake of construction company CPG for EUR 18 million. The starting price amounted EUR 16,4 million. Due diligence was carried out for seven potential buyers.

With this acquisition they created the largest construction company in Slovenia. In year 2015 SGP Pomgrad was the largest construction company in Slovenia with revenues of EUR 125 million (on group level). CGP created their record with EUR 86 million of revenus and Kolektor Koling created EUR 69 million. Together, last year they would created revenues in amount of EUR 155 million.

DUTB and Mr. Izet Rastoder signed an agreement for the purchase of EUR 84 million of receivables to Grep, the project company, which has built the shopping part (only foundation) of Stožice. Rastoder still has to pay the purchase price, of which amount is not known.

In year 2015 Grep had EUR 134 million of short-term and EUR 6,3 million long-term financial liabilities. In addition, Grep had approx. EUR 67 million of business liabilities. The negative equity amounted EUR 147,5 million and the balance sheet loss amounted EUR 177 million.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) approved  Gorenje a loan of EUR 50 million. With this money manufacturer of white goods will finance a four-year program of research, development and innovation, in which they will produce new household appliances and upgrading product offer.

CEO Mr. Franjo Bobinac, said that the driver of their growth is development of premium and innovative products and brands of the highest class. He expects that by the 2020, their sales will double to 30 percent of total Group sales. This loan is the first transaction in Slovenia in the program InnovFin - EU funding for innovators. In seven years, this program will dispose with more than EUR 24 billion.

The Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) confirmed the sale of Slovenia's second-largest bank, NKBM, to US buyout fund Apollo Global Management and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on Tuesday. A sales contract with which Apollo will get 80% and EBRD 20% of the bank for a combined EUR 250 mio has already been signed.

Costella, the company that bottles the eponymous brand of natural mineral water, was sold to Ardeya Global from United Arab Emirates. The new owner has "long-term plans with the company" and wants to boost Costella's presence on the Slovenian market as well as take it to new markets in Northern Africa and the Middle East. According to the owner of Ardeya Global Ali Al Ameri, Costella is a well known water brand of the highest quality. The new owner also paid all of Costella's debt and plans to make it an international brand.

The new, expanded Helios Group has operations and production in 18 countries around the world with headquarters in Slovenia. Name Helios now also carry the companies in Serbia, Austria, Russia, Poland and elsewhere. At the head of the management of the entire Group are now David Kubala and Hubert Čulík, members of the leadership are Ales Klavžar Patrick Lichtblau, Gert Schmidt-Leuhusen and Dietmar Jost. In 2015, the net debt of the Helios Group decreased by more than 25 percent, compared to 2014 they recorded also a double-digit increase of EBITDA. This year Helios Group is planning to invest in the production of resins Količevo worth EUR 2.5 million.

Both companies submitted the acquisition contract to the district court in Ljubljana. An acquisition contract has been checked and approved by the supervisory boards of both companies. The largest Slovenian telecommunications operator bought mobile telephony service provider Debitel last year. The total value of the transaction amounted EUR 15.8 million.

Impol from Slovenska Bistrica is the seventh largest Slovenian aluminium exporter and in March they will establish a production in Šibenik in a former TLM factory.  Investments of EUR 70 million are planned over the next five years. With new products they will entry into the automotive industry. Jernej Čokl, the boss of Impol, told that they will employ a workforce of 300-400 and will produce 100.000 tonnes of aluminium per year (at full capacity). The company's rolling mill at its headquarters in Slovenska Bistrica is half a century old and Impol plans to shut it down this year.  They will relocate the production to the more modern rolling mill in Šibenik. Impol already bought the Serbian factory aluminum products Seval from Sevojna in 2002. With TLM factory, Impol will unite three formerly leading Yugoslav producers.

The Republic of Slovenia sold 91.58 % of Adria Airways to Luxembourg-headquartered turnaround specialist 4K Invest for EUR 0.1 million. Under the deal, Slovenia will contribute EUR 3.1 million and 4K Invest EUR 1 million for capital increase. Slovenia’s share of the capital increase is lower than estimated and cheaper than Adria Airways declaring bankruptcy, since Adria Airways contributes around EUR 10 million to the national treasury in taxes alone. Adria Airways has been facing business and financial problems. The money from the capital increase will be used to return Adria Airways to growth. Adria Airways will get a buyer who will restructure it, maintain the Slovenian airline and provide for its future development.

Investment into CEE countries (excluding Russia) for 2015 reached a historic high level at over EUR 9.55 billion, representing a 19% increase from previous year. The highest investment was into core-CEE countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania) which reached EUR 8.4 billion in 2015, a 14% increase from year 2014 and well above the forecast numbers. The highest investment volume (43%) was in retail sector for its quality products. This substantial increase is based on a multitude of large investment deals on prime, dominant shopping centers located in Czech Republic and Poland. Larger deals are expected to be seen in Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia with investors looking to have a presence in these markets.

Serbian AIK bank, owned by MK Group (Miodrag Kostić), increased capital at Gorenjska banka, taking over 13,9% its shares. They became the second biggest owner of the bank. AIK bank provided major part of funds for Gorenjska banka capital increase in amount of EUR 13 million. AIK banka will be the main player at shareholder meetings since financial Sava holding (majority owner) is deprived of right to vote.

The Serbian government has decided not to sell Telekom Srbija and as the Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told Telekom remains in the hands of the government. Although they received a good offer, they realized it was not good enough for them to go into the privatization of Telekom Srbija. The prime minister said today his cabinet made the decision today unanimously, and that it was suggested by a commission set up for the privatization of the company. The government expected the price that was also agreed on with union representatives.

The government offered a 58-percent stake in the state-owned telecommunications company for sale, and received six bids that were opened in late November, but not disclosed to the public. The prime minister said that the best offer came from USA and if they gave 100, 200 million more, there would be no dilemma. The investor counts on having problems once they take over Telekom and that partially contributed to the lowering of the price. The state currently owns 58.11 percent of Telekom, while the company owns 20 percent. Private citizens and current and former employees control stakes of 14.95 and 6.94 percent, respectively.

We would like to whish to all our business partners and colleagues all the best in 2016!

December 15 Slovenian steel construction products maker Trimo was sold to Polish investment fund Innova Capital. Slovenia's largest bank Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) coordinated the sale. NLB said Innova had offered the highest price among several bidders. The unofficial price was about EUR 50 million ($55 million). The deal joins a growing list of Polish acquisitions in Slovenia. The Trimo transaction will be completed in the early months of 2016. Ten local banks, which own 97 percent of Trimo, have been looking to sell the company for about two years.

The sale has also been welcomed by the company's management and trade union. Chairman Igor Kržan said that Innova should help reinforce operations following the financial restructuring with which the company turned around its fortunes. Trimo was expected to end the year with a profit and revenues in excess of EUR 80 milliion. The sale is not expected to result in major changes for the company. Trimo anticipate that the Polish owner will provide greater development. Everything now depends on activities and development of know-how and trade union expects that Trimo headquarters, the development and marketing departments and production remain in Trebnje.

Company RJ Finance published a book: Roman Jeras: Week - Story about a Big Deal. Slovenian version of the book: Roman Jeras: Teden - Zgodba o velikem poslu can be ordered on the following link.

Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) agreed to sell its Slovenian unit for an undisclosed sum to Biser Bidco, run by an affiliate of U.S. investment fund Apollo Global Management. Raiffeisen announced its plan to pull out of the Slovenian market at the beginning of the year and said that the sale was a part of the company's strategy. The move comes after the US fund Apollo acquired the state-owned NKBM bank, now Slovenia's no. 3 bank, in June.

Raiffeisen will book a negative effect of EUR 49 million through the deal, which is due to be closed in the first half of 2016 pending regulatory approval. This sum is already included in its outlook. The deal, which will reduce RBI's risk-weighted assets by around EUR 270 million, will have a "minimal negative effect" on RBI's fully loaded Core Equity Tier 1 ratio. Slovenian company Raiffeisen Leasing was however not included in the transaction.

According to past media reports, Apollo is interested in creating the biggest bank in Slovenia through acquisitions of private and state-owned banks. The fund was mentioned already in September as a possible buyer of Raiffeisen banka as well as of Sberbank, the Russian-owned bank which is also withdrawing from Slovenia. Together NKBM and Raifeeisen have 12,2% of market share in Slovenia and according to the Bank of Slovenia no bank should exceed 30% of market share. Therefore, Apollo Global buying the Abanka bank is questionable aquisition.

Texas-based TPG Real Estate Pacific Group has completed its acquisition of Hungarian developer TriGranit which includes office and retail assets in CEE. Largest part of portfolio are assets in Poland and Hungary. In its portfolio also projects from Slovenia and Croatia are included.

Domel will pay EUR 3,03 million for total 25 thousand square meters of LTH's real estate. The starting price was EUR 1,9 million. Now in Škofja Loka instead of chests they are going to produce electric motors for cars. This location will be fully occupied within two to three years. Domel will become an owner in February 2016.

Total value of investment is EUR 10 million. Domel will buy equipment in total value of EUR 3 million. Renovation of 50 years old production facilities will cost additional few million. At the end of year 2016 they expect that 30 to 50 employees will work in Škofja Loka. In the next three years they will open a few dozen new workplaces. This year Domel Group will exceed EUR 100 million of total revenues for the first time.

SDH and Aerodrom Ljubljana sold Adria Airways Tehnika shares to Polish company Linetech Holding. SDH had 52,33 percent stake in the company, while Aerodrom Ljubljana had 47,67 percent stake. The goal of this process was maximizing the sale price. At the same time they seek an owner who will support Adria Airways Tehnika growth and further development and kept its key features in Slovenia.

Recently was published by Slovenian Statistical Office (SURS), that financial debt of the companies is decreasing. On average ratio between financial debt and EBITDA will decrease to 3 by the end of 2015.

In takeover bids for Žito, Podravka has acquired 125.434 shares, which represents 35,25 percent of total shares. With this action Podravka increased their stake in the company to 86,80 percent. Meantime Žito already gained new Supervisory Board, three representatives from Podravka, President of the Slovenian small shareholders association and two employee representatives.

Slovenian market is becoming one of the most important markets for Croatia. With this acquisition Podravka Group will climb to the top of the food industy on the Slovenian market with approximately EUR 119 million of total revenue per year.

Despite that bond yields are at all-time lows in most of Europe and at the same time equity dividend yields close to long-term averages, about half European property markets are undervalued. That are findings of the research firm Capital Economics, most interesting city in this perspective is Budapest.

Slovenian staticstical Office published, that price of residential Real Estate was in Q2 2015 on average 2,3 percenteges higher than in Q1. Number of real estate transaction is increasing, with stress on older Real Estate, while new builds are not following the trend. 

Marina operator and builder Adriatic Marinas invested €50m in the first half-year of 2015 in its luxury yacht and residential complex Porto Montenegro in Boka Kotorska on the north part of  Montenegro Adriatic coast, taking total investment since launch in 2006 to €396m.

Croatian government started in 2015 the sales procedure of Croatia Airlines. Largest interest was indicated by South Korean company Korean Air and Taiwan company Eva Air. With revenues exceeding USD 13 billion Korean Air je is one of the largest Asian airlines, whipe Eva Air become famous with their Hello Kitty campaign.

Korea-based private ADF Asset Management, specialised in logistic property, has bought an H&M warehouse in Hamburg from one of CEE logistics leaders Austria's CA Immo, which said the sales price was good, as received EUR 100 mn was well above book value.

 

Leading Slovenian industrial group Gorenje (Market Cap in LJSE: EUR 154 mn) and Polish company Tesla Recycling, a subsidiary of Elemental Holding (Market Cap in WSE: EUR 156 mn), signed a contract on the sale of a majority stake in Gorenje subsidiary Gorenje Surovina d.o.o., which also owns subsidiaries Kemis Valjevo in Serbia, Kemis BH in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cleaning System S in Šabac, Serbia. The transaction will be after the completion in the size of EUR 29,2 milion the largest Polish investment in Slovenia.

Largest retailer in the Balkan region, Croatian Agrokor is investing in its food related companies. One of the important companies is Agrolaguna, leading agricultural company in Croatian part of Istria, whose business includes wine and olive growing and cattle breeding. All products of Agrolaguna well-known and quality brands in the region. Agrokor invested in Agrolaguna more than EUR 30 million, mostly in new vineyards and olive groves, and the latest equipment, as well as the preconditions for the production of top-quality products.

One of the largest investments in Croatian Real Estate was announced. The total size of it is estimated to EUR 920 million and is focused to Medical Tourism. Location of the project in in Brač, one of the most recognised Croatian Islands. It is estimated that international investors behind the company Medis Investment will employ more than 1.300 people. 

Slovenian Savings Bank Delavska Hranilnica is also officially 100% owner of the second largest airport in Slovenia, Maribor Airport. The acquisition with total value of approximate EUR 2 million was initiated in 2014. Delavska Hranilnica profitable financial institution, majority owned by Workers Unions.

Company RJ Finance proudly announces new service: Non-Capital Strategic Partnerships. Service is focused to the clients, that are creating majority of the revenues with one account and would like to change the relationship wheather strenghten the existing account or change it with another strategic partner. For additional information please, contact us.

Today will be officially submitted the final binding offer from British private equity fund Cinven Partners LLP. Unofficially was disclosed, that the offer will be in the range of EUR 130 per share. Structure of the offer is complex and shareholders would at the selling receive less than EUR 130, the difference would be subject to certain conditions. Now is turn on the Slovenian Government if they will support the procedure. Closing price on Ljubljana Stock Exchange on 20.5. was EUR 109,00 that makes Market Cap EUR 712,37 million.

Croatian state agencies and entities were paing too expensive rents was result of the investigation of State entity responsible for economics of managing state assets. They found out that in 2015 exists more than 50 tennant agreements, where monthly rent per square meter exceeds EUR 11. The record they found was HAKOM - Croatian regulatory authority for network industries with EUR 24, that are paing for 5.140 square meters in Zagreb Sky Office.

Sava RE shareholders assembly is announced for 28th May. The 30th General Meeting of Shareholders will be called in the period, when shares POSR are experiencing very strong growth. Many participants on the market expects larger ownership changes in future months. Market Capitalisation of Sava RE exceeds EUR 280 million.

Slovenian Newspaper Company Delo d.d. is on sale for several years. In this round of selling procedure, they received four non-binding offers, from Slovenian holding company KS Naložbe, local financial institution Delavska Hranilnica and Slovakian media company Joy TV. The bidding amounts are unofficialy in the range of EUR 5 million. Company had in 2013 EUR 1 million of EBIT and Value of Capital EUR 8,5 million.

Croatian company Benussi owned by Silvan Benusi from croatian Istria acquired more than 110.000 m2 of land in the industrial area of Ljubljana, near Ljubljana Ring. Benusi paid for mentioned Real Estate  EUR 18,5 million and that makes one of the largest deals in the region. Benusi is authorised dealer of Iveco trucks in Slovenia and Croatia.

With the conversion of debt to equity slovenian bad bank DUTB has become the owner or co-owner of almost 120 Slovenian companies, including self-adhesive manufacturer Aero Celje, steel castings manufacturer Litostroj Jeklo and MLM, presses producer Litostroj Ravne. In 2014 it took over the ownership of 52 properties in the nominal value of 55 million euro and owned 74 properties and stakes in 24 companies by the end of the year.

As there recent change of non-executive members of Board of Directors was executed, it is expected that there will be also change in executive members of BoD. There were several issues related to non-efficient management of DUTB exposed in public media recently.

Croatian aluminium company, that had in best years EUR 200 million of revenues was after financial difficulties recently sold to Russian investor Mr. Igor Samis for simbolic amount of HRK 1. That could be step towards better times of once largest company in Šibenik.

Foreign investors allocated a record EUR 56billion to European commercial real estate last year, with especially strong 4Q14 US demand taking overall inflows to €186bn, says report of the advisory company DTZ. They expects 2015 to reach €210bn or higher due to attractive pricing and weight of global capital.