The mysterious director of the Serbian fund FIA, Ranko Mimović, held final discussions in Varaždin regarding the acquisition of FIMA, which owns 10.6% of Podravka’s shares, reports hrt.hr.
Mimović refused HTV’s cameras, but confirmed in a phone conversation that he is ready to take over the state’s package of Podravka shares. He did not explain where he got so much money. It is only known that the new owner of part of Podravka’s shares is Fia Electricity, one of the companies within the FIA group whose account is not blocked due to debts. This makes him the largest individual shareholder of the Koprivnica company. However, the ambitions of this group do not stop there – they want to increase their stake in the company as a strategic investor. It is not entirely clear whether Mimović has already discussed this with anyone from the state leadership.
So far, he has not invested a single kuna in Podravka, but plans to invest as much as 400 million kuna, primarily to pay off debts from the Spice operation. However, Mimović did not want to answer whether he has contacted the largest creditor, OTP Bank, nor did he reveal whose capital he represents. But Podravka is not the only focus of the FIA group’s interest. The acquisition of companies from the former Fima group from Varaždin is also underway. If the deal succeeds – soon, along with Podravka, they will become owners of many other valuable companies in Croatia such as Varaždinska banka, Mirna Rovinj, Varteks, and several hotels on the Adriatic – which have so far belonged to Varaždin companies. (www.hrt.hr)
