Agreement Reached: Agrokor Acknowledges Sberbank’s Claims, Russians Withdraw Lawsuit

Agrokor and Sberbank have signed an agreement that allows Sberbank to return to negotiations regarding the settlement, which stipulates that the extraordinary administration acknowledges Sberbank’s claims, while the Russian bank will withdraw its lawsuits, announced on Wednesday by Agrokor’s extraordinary commissioner Fabris Peruško and Sberbank representative Sergej Volk.

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Agrokor also stated in a press release that extraordinary commissioner Fabris Peruško and the first vice president of Sberbank’s management board Maksim Poletaev signed an agreement “which establishes the principles under which Sberbank and its affiliated companies will withdraw the lawsuits they have filed against Agrokor and its affiliated companies within a reasonable timeframe, and under which the extraordinary commissioner will acknowledge the disputed claims of Sberbank and propose that the acknowledged claims of Sberbank be included in the updated list of recognized claims submitted to the Commercial Court in Zagreb.”

In a statement to reporters, both Volk and Peruško expressed satisfaction with the agreement, with Peruško believing that the draft settlement will be ready by April 10.

Peruško: With Sberbank, Secured Broad Support; Draft Settlement by April 10

Peruško explained that the agreement means that the extraordinary administration acknowledges Sberbank’s claims, while on the other hand, Sberbank will withdraw its lawsuits within the agreed timeframe.

“This agreement with Sberbank allows us to reach a settlement that will give us broad support from creditors,” said Peruško.

Sberbank is Agrokor’s largest creditor, with claims of around one billion euros.

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He expressed satisfaction with the agreement that “allows Sberbank to proactively participate in the settlement process and be an important part of the settlement.”

The extraordinary commissioner also emphasizes that the agreement with Sberbank enables the achievement of another goal – “that the new Agrokor, which will emerge after the settlement, has a long-term business future.”

In response to reporters’ questions, Peruško also stated that he believes they already have broad support from a large majority of creditors. “It is important to us that the text of the settlement is ultimately adopted with a majority that will give even greater credibility to the settlement itself,” he emphasized.

He also reported that a meeting with the Temporary Creditor’s Council in an expanded composition was concluded today in Split, where they worked on the details of the settlement framework.

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“We can confidently state that we will have the settlement framework ready by April 10,” emphasized Peruško.

As one of the important topics, the meeting in Split mentioned the agreement regarding the problems of Konzum’s suppliers and their outstanding debts.

Peruško assesses that a “significant progress” has been made regarding the details of that agreement and believes that they will have an agreement on that in the coming days.

“The confirmed settlement framework by April 10 allows us to ensure the completion of the settlement text within the legal deadline,” concluded Peruško.

In response to journalists’ inquiries about the agreement with Sberbank, Peruško stated that its execution is more related to the legal steps that must be satisfied.

Volk Satisfied with the Agreement

In a statement to reporters, Volk stated that Sberbank and Agrokor have agreed on certain steps in an effort to resolve the situation in Agrokor and signed an agreement that includes certain activities to be undertaken by both parties.

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“These activities will serve as a basis for further constructive discussions and enable Agrokor and its creditors, with the active participation of Sberbank, to agree on a comprehensive settlement plan within the legally prescribed timeframe. Sberbank is returning to the negotiating table to achieve an agreement on the restructuring of Agrokor’s debt,” said Volk, who believes that if the agreed steps are taken, a balanced and acceptable settlement will be achieved.

Volk is satisfied with the agreement and appreciates the contribution of the new extraordinary administration, emphasizing that Peruško has managed to bring things under control in a short time and achieve significant progress in the settlement process. “I hope this approach will help us reach a settlement agreement and successfully complete the restructuring of Agrokor,” he said.