Slovenian Mercator is seeking to reach an agreement with banks regarding a moratorium, under which it would only pay interest on loans until the end of June this year, without repaying due principal installments. At the same time, the largest Slovenian retail group is also awaiting negotiations on the reprogramming of due short-term loans amounting to 500 million euros, as reported on Tuesday by the Ljubljana daily Dnevnik.
Mercator has officially confirmed, according to the newspaper’s business supplement, that the company’s director Toni Balažič proposed to banks that Mercator pays due interest until mid-year, but not the principal on loans. Some leading banks have agreed to such a moratorium, which would be valid until the end of June, and they expect the consent of others soon.
According to Dnevnik, Mercator is facing difficulties in securing the necessary liquidity from its current operations in conditions where banks require it to reduce its indebtedness. At the end of last year, it amounted to 1.1 billion euros, and according to this year’s balance sheet, 500 million euros of short-term loans are due for payment. Therefore, negotiations on the moratorium on principal payments are the first step towards reaching an agreement with creditor banks on the reprogramming of credit obligations, i.e., ensuring a sustainable financing structure, the newspaper states.
