Turkish company Yildirim has submitted a binding bid for the acquisition of Croatian fertilizer producer Petrokemija, which has recently
announced a plan to delist its shares from the Zagreb Stock Exchange.
According to Croatian media, the bid is valid until 31 January. The bid is submitted to Petrokemija‟s majority shareholder – Terra Mineralna Gnojiva, and a number of state-owned funds and companies, which hold Petrokemija‟s shares.
Terra Mineralna Gnojiva, a joint venture of oil company INA and gas company Prvo Plinarsko Drustvo (PPD), acquired 54.517 % stake in
Petrokemija in 2018 through a 40 million euros capital increase.
According to the media, state-owned fund for enterprise restructuring and privatization CERP has the biggest doubts regarding the bid. CERP, which carried out the company’s restructuring and ensured its survival three years ago, wants to see the company’s maintain its production activities in long run in order to provide stability of supply of mineral fertilizers to local food producers.
Any negotiations with potential investors will take place at an unfavorable moment, amidst temporary suspension of production operations at Petrokemija due to high natural gas prices. Besides, Petrokemija would require a lot of investments to meet European Union’s environmental standards.
Earlier this week, Petrokemija announced that its shareholders will vote on a proposal to delist its shares from the Zagreb Stock Exchange at the next meeting scheduled for 21 February, as the company does not have any major benefits from trading on the regulated market.
