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Miljenko Pivac Takes Control of Kraš After Settlement with EPPO

<p>Miljenko Pivac</p>
Miljenko Pivac / Image by: foto

An important change in the ownership structure has occurred at Kraš. According to data submitted to the Zagreb Stock Exchange and Hanfa, Miljenko Pivac has acquired 33.33 percent of the shares in the Meat Industry Braća Pivac from his mother Veronika Pivac, based on a contract for the transfer of business shares concluded at the end of November. This indirectly gives him control over a stake of 826,426 shares in Kraš, representing 51.15 percent of the voting rights in the largest Croatian confectionery manufacturer, while Veronika Pivac simultaneously lost the same stake indirectly.

The Meat Industry Braća Pivac, which holds 55.15 percent of the shares in Kraš, still retains the majority package, but the family ownership structure of that stake is changing. Miljenko’s return to ownership relations comes less than a year after he transferred his stake to his mother at the beginning of 2024, following his arrest in the EPPO investigation related to Čakovec’s Vajda.

Settlement and Conclusion of Criminal Proceedings

Miljenko Pivac agreed to a settlement with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in October regarding the subsidy fraud case in Vajda. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a fine of one and a half million euros and eleven months in prison, which were replaced with community service.

Other members of the management and supervisory board of Vajda were also punished, while the company itself, which has already returned the unlawfully obtained benefit, was additionally sanctioned with 1.5 million euros. After the settlement, the criminal proceedings were closed, allowing Miljenko to formally return to the ownership structures of family companies without legal obstacles.

Changes in Ownership After the Death of Ivica Pivac

The family restructuring of ownership has been ongoing since the death of Ivica Pivac, after which the heirs had to resolve the mutual division of shares. At the end of July, we reported that the Meat Industry Braća Pivac increased its share capital by 6.2 million euros by converting reserves from profits and re-registered all seven co-owners in the Court Register, marking the end of the ownership division. According to the Register of Beneficial Owners, Neven Pivac held 42.82 percent of the shares at that time, Veronika Pivac 33.33 percent, and the remaining 19 percent was distributed among shares of 4.77 percent held by Silvija Pivac and the four daughters of the late Ivica Pivac.

The Meat Industry Braća Pivac, within its portfolio, besides Kraš, also includes PPK Karlovac, Čakovec’s Vajda, Sol Turizam, and the construction company Dolić-Pivac građenje. Miljenko Pivac was a long-time member of that ownership structure until his withdrawal in 2024, when he transferred his stake in the Meat Industry Braća Pivac to his mother Veronika after his arrest.

With this latest change, Miljenko Pivac regains indirect control over the majority package of shares in Kraš, which is formally held by the Meat Industry Braća Pivac.

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