The infamous helicopter owned by the richest Croat will apparently be sold.
At a symbolic level next week, Agrokor will begin the process of selling property that is not essential for its business operations. The government-appointed commissioner will sell the company’s yacht, helicopter and luxury cars, reports Jutarnji List on May 21, 2017.
After Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Martina Dalić said a few days ago that Agrokor, in the context of improving liquidity, should start selling assets that are not needed for its regular business operations, the company’s emergency management has announced it will start with the process.
“At this moment, Agrokor’s extraordinary administration is thinking about selling movables that are not necessary for the business operations of Agrokor and its operating companies. As the first step, the management is preparing a public call to collect evidence of interest of potential buyers interested in purchasing the helicopter and the yacht owned by Agrokor. The call will be released next week. Also, the extraordinary administration is working on reducing the car fleet of the group and is in negotiations with leasing companies in order to address the issue of the most luxurious cars in the fleet, primarily Mercedes, Range Rover and Audi, which are not necessary for the company’s operations,” said the group.
According to unofficial sources, some of the items which will be offered up for sale first are the yacht Riva 85 Opera, 24 metres in length, which was produced in 2006, as well as the Bell 427 VFR helicopter, also produced in 2006. When it comes to reducing the number of cars in the company fleet, there are several Audi A8’s, a Mercedes S 600, Range Rovers and various others which will be sold.
Sources also say that, after the sale of the movable property, in the foreseeable future and when conditions are met, the company will start selling real estate that is considered not necessary for the operations of the group. In the end, some of the operating companies themselves will also be sold, particularly those which do not belong to the portfolio of manufacturing, processing and retail companies.
It can be presumed that the Agrokor’s Council of Creditors will support the sale of assets which are not productive and which do not contribute to the productivity of Agrokor and its companies, particularly in the situation where the group needs every kuna for its regular business operations and for the repayment of old debts and credit obligations. Nevertheless, it is clear that the sale of other major assets will take more time, given that those moves will have to be included in a wider restructuring plan, which needs to be confirmed by the Council of Creditors.
However, for starters, Agrokor obviously wants to send a symbolic message that the company is moving towards a more rational and responsible way of doing business. Also, there is little doubt that this move will be quite popular with the voters, which is not an insignificant consideration given the local elections.
