Due to demands from banks to which it owes approximately 370 million euros, the Pivovarna Laško (PL) group will initiate the sale process of Radenska, Slovenia’s largest producer of mineral and spring waters, this autumn, Slovenian media report.
PL’s director Dušan Zorko confirmed to Ljubljana’s Delo that his company has already signed a contract with Unicredit bank, which will act as a consultant to prepare an international tender and seek buyers for Radenska.
The sale process will begin no later than September, Zorko confirmed.
The business newspaper Finance recently reported that Kofola, one of the leading Czech companies owned by the Greek Samaras family, is very interested in purchasing Radenska.
Kofola produces various beverages in seven plants in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, and Russia, and distributes them in Austria and Germany, Finance states.
The paper claims that Kofola is interested in creating a stronger production and distribution channel in the Balkans through Slovenia and Radenska.
It is reportedly a private company that generates 300 million euros in annual sales revenue, but its profit fell by 6.4 percent last year.
In the first quarter of this year alone, Kofola sold 50 million euros worth of non-alcoholic beverages, while Radenska achieves sales of about thirty million euros in an entire year, Finance writes.
The announcement of the sale process for Radenska is interpreted by Slovenian media as pressure from banks on the management of Pivovarna Laško due to debts amounting to 370 million euros, as the management under Dušan Zorko had until recently wanted to retain companies in the core business of beer and non-alcoholic beverages, while selling stakes in media companies and Mercator.
If Radenska is sold, it will not be the first case of PL selling one of its core business companies, as in 2011 it sold the juice producer Fructal from Ajdovščina for 35 million euros to the private Serbian company Nektar, securing from the buyer a commitment not to relocate production from Slovenia.
