Russia’s Sberbank has purchased an 18.53% stake in Agrokor’s Slovenian retailer Mercator for €40.58 million, reports Finance.
Sberbank is one of the largest creditors of heavily-indebted Croatian company Agrokor. The Russian bank bought the stake itself after its auction failed to attract bidders, according to reports. Sberbank had seized the stake from the Agrokor Investments, owned by Croatian tycoon Ivica Todoric.
Mercator Plans
Sberbank said that it is aware of the important role of Mercator in the Slovenian economy, adding that it will act in the best interests of the company.
Agrokor acquired the supermarket chain in 2014 for nearly €500 million and still owns nearly 70% of the Slovenian retailer. As well as Slovenia, it is also present in Serbia, through its local unit Mercator-S - one of the country’s top two retailers, alongside Delhaize's Mega Image.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
