The deadline for submitting non-binding offers to purchase more than half of Mercator’s shares has been extended, and they will be accepted ‘at least until the end of this week,’ announced the Slovenian Press Agency STA on Monday, citing sources from Pivovarna Laško (PL).
This company is the largest individual owner with over 23 percent of Mercator’s total shares. In this new attempt to sell, PL is participating in a consortium with banks, and a total of 53.18 percent of Mercator’s shares are being sold. The deadline for submitting offers, according to announcements from Slovenian media, was set to expire on Monday, but ING Bank from London, which is leading the process as a consultant, will accept them at least until the end of this week, STA reported on Monday.
Leading Slovenian media estimate that the highest price for the share, which was traded at 125 euros on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange at the end of the week, could be offered by Agrokor as a potential strategic investor, given the interest shown so far, but that the offered price will likely be much lower than in 2011 when Agrokor offered 221 euros per share. The deadline for collecting offers was also extended then by just under two weeks, unofficially because they were waiting for Agrokor’s offer.
