Plenković: It is important that the new co-owners of Agrokor show faith in the company

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Wednesday in Varaždin, commenting on the reached settlement in Agrokor, stated that it is important for the new co-owners in the group to show faith in the new company and its ability to generate profit. When asked by reporters if a ‘weight has been lifted off his heart’ due to the successful conclusion of the settlement in Agrokor, he said that he primarily congratulates the majority of creditors who voted for the settlement.

Agrokor’s creditors on Wednesday voted on the settlement at a hearing in the Dražen Petrović Basketball Center (Cibona), with creditors voting with 80.2 percent of total claims, or 27.08 billion kuna in claims out of a total amount of 33.75 billion kuna.

– I want to reiterate that the Croatian state and government, in a very short time, under demanding circumstances, and in a context that is now completely forgotten, when Agrokor was threatened with bankruptcy and financial catastrophe for numerous companies and suppliers and small farmers, nevertheless found a solution within a reasonable period of 15 months to preserve jobs and enable an economic future for both Agrokor and its partners, Plenković said from Varaždin where the government held the 4th meeting with county heads, representatives of the Association of Cities and the Association of Municipalities on Wednesday.

>>> Voted settlement on Agrokor

He assessed that the quality of the entire process of extraordinary administration has today received legitimacy from those who are most important – those who had claims against Agrokor.

– The fact is that despite all possible attempts at political destabilization of that process, including the government, we resisted all those attacks, that we constantly maintained the same direction, which is the general interest of the Croatian economy, the Croatian state, and employees, and that we sent a message of confidence in our legal system and to foreign partners that Croatia has managed in this context. For me, this is extremely encouraging, as is the fact that an assessment has arrived that the law is in accordance with the Constitution, and that it has indirectly been included in the legal acquis of the EU through an annex to the relevant regulation that speaks about insolvency proceedings of member states, which is a prerequisite for the recognition of court decisions based on this law in other member states, he said.

He also stated that “we have done a service to neighboring countries, as many of Agrokor’s companies operated in their markets,” adding that “we can all be satisfied with what has been achieved.”

>>> Hearing on Agrokor – creditors present with 95 percent of claims

When asked if he thanks Martina Dalić, the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy who resigned under pressure from the ‘Borg Group emails’ affair, Plenković answered affirmatively. And when asked if he spoke with Dalić today, he replied that he did not, but that she made a significant contribution to everything.

Plenković, in response to a question, also said that the next phase is the confirmation of the settlement by the High Commercial Court, followed by the implementation phase, estimating that this will ‘take’ at least another six months, and ultimately a new ownership structure will follow that will create a new corporate governance structure.

– What is important to us is that all new co-owners, as I would call them, show faith in the new company, in its ability to generate profit and in its importance for the Croatian economy and the possibility that not only they as owners benefit, but also Croatia, and in this regard, I expect their behavior, Prime Minister Plenković said.