Inspire: The Entire Portfolio of Nexus’s Fund FGS I Goes on Sale

While the focus of the Government and the public these days has been on Agrokor, a very quickly executed story about the takeover of Nexus’s Fund for Economic Cooperation (FGS I) was simultaneously concluding, which was taken over by Inspire Investments on Friday. Interestingly, the largest investors in FGS I are HBOR with 50 percent and Konzum with a 25 percent stake.

The decision of the depositor (Splitska banka) regarding the new manager had to be confirmed by the Ministry of Economy (Martina Dalić) and the extraordinary commissioner of Agrokor. Fortunately, the state decided not to directly influence HBOR when deciding on the new manager, and the development bank chose to stay on the sidelines and see how other investors are reacting, ultimately making a joint decision.

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According to information from sources close to the new managers, Inspire plans to sell the entire portfolio of the fund by the end of 2020, with the largest investment relating to Dalekovod with a 60 percent stake. The goal is to capitalize on all previous investments of this fund by that year, and no later than the end of 2021. The FGS I fund independently invested in Boat booker, Data Center Križ, Požgaj group, Zagreb montaža, and Dalekovod, and in collaboration with Prosperus in Energija Gradec.

The total value of the fund’s investments is around 330 million kuna. At the helm of Inspire are two prominent figures, Matko Bolanča, former head of Pliva, and Dinko Novoselec, former head of the AZ mandatory pension fund, who must start looking for strategic or financial partners this year in order to sell the portfolio. There are also options for releasing shares on the capital market or selling to pension funds.

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Nexus also managed the FGS II fund, which is now managed by the Prosperus Invest fund. In that fund, according to the latest available information, there were five private investors, and in the FGS I fund, six. The total value of investments in both funds was 430 million kuna.

Now it is up to Hanfa to confirm the decisions made; everything must be concluded by March 10, and Inspire Investments must officially become the new manager. Then it will be known whether the same management structure will remain in Dalekovod, led by Alen Premužak, who has been running the company for a record two and a half years (previous leaders have not managed to stay in that position for more than a year).

Written by: Tina Bašić and Željka Laslavić