Will the Slovenians finally buy something in Croatia? Impol currently does not reveal plans regarding the Šibenik TLM

At Impol from Slovenska Bistrica, a large aluminum producer and one of the largest Slovenian exporters, they currently do not wish to comment on reports that they are the main favorite to purchase the Šibenik TLM, but Slovenian media indicate that they have been interested in the acquisition for some time and have plans to return the former Šibenik giant to a production level of 110,000 tons per year.

After Croatians have purchased a good part of the Slovenian retail network and food industry in recent years, it could happen in the near future that Impol takes over TLM and its subsidiaries, for which it has shown interest for a long time and is considered one of the main favorites, claims the Ljubljana daily newspaper “Dnevnik” in its business supplement.

Reportedly, Impol is ready to invest 70 million euros in the acquisition of the struggling TLM and the renewal of production, initially employing around a hundred workers, and in the next phase increasing the number of employees to 400.

According to plans that Impol has already prepared, aluminum production in Šibenik could be raised to as much as 110,000 tons per year.

The chairman of the board of Impol, Jernej Čokl, does not want to comment on investment plans in Croatia, although the Slovenian company is the only one to have submitted its offer, writes “Dnevnik”.

Iimpol employs 1,800 workers and is considered one of the largest Slovenian exporters, and this year it could achieve record production and business results, after generating 297 million euros in revenue in the first six months, which is a fifth more than last year.

Its business is relatively good and stable, having achieved a net profit of over 12 million euros in the first half of this year, but it faces difficulties in securing equity capital, financing most of its operations through debt. Last year, two-thirds of Impol’s funding sources consisted of debt capital, the newspaper states.

Additionally, “Dnevnik” reports that due to controversial privatization, a legal proceeding has been ongoing for some time against Impol’s directors Jernej Čokl and Vladimir Leskovar and their company Upimol, with which they began the privatization of Impol.

The state prosecutor’s office accuses them of causing damage to Impol amounting to 1.9 million euros during the transformation of the company from 1996 to 2006. The main hearing in this case will take place on September 30 of this year at the district court in Maribor, “Dnevnik” reports.