The owners of Mercator, the biggest food retailer in Slovenia, had received two bids for the majority shareholding in their company. These owners comprise a consortium of twelve separate companies and financial institutions that jointly control 53% of the company.
In a statement, the owners said, "The members of the consortium are studying the bids and expect to continue talks with the bidders."
There were no details given by the company but local media outlets identified the bidders as Agrokor, the food producer and retailer from Croatia and Mid Europa Partners, an investment fund. Agrokor had previously attempted to purchase Mercator last year but failed.
Both Agrokor and Mid Europa Partners declined to make any comment on the matter.
Speculation was rife that Agrokor placed the higher bid at an estimated Eur415 million or US$538 million for Mercator. This translates to Eur110.2 per share, less than half of what it had bid earlier at Eur221 per share.
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