ZAGREB, December 6, 2019 – Fortenova Group chairman of the Board Maksim Poletaev said on Friday he talked with Slovenian Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek in Ljubljana the day before about solving outstanding issues concerning the transfer of the Mercator retailer to the group by the end of the year.
The talks, attended by Sergey Volkov of Sberbank, focused on a model of cooperation so that the outstanding issues over Mercator are solved positively by the end of the year, to which both parties committed, Poletaev says in a press released cited by Slovenia’s news agency.
He says both parties have common goals concerning Mercator and are on the same line concerning the inter-dependence of Mercator’s local suppliers and attempts to keep the retailer’s HQ in Ljubljana for the next few years.
Foretnova’s Board will also meet with Slovenia’s market competition regulator, whose approval is necessary to transfer Mercator to Fortenova Group, Poletaev says.
The Slovenian Economy Ministry said in a press release that Thursday’s meeting between Počivalšek, Poletaev and Volkov discussed a solution which, upon Mercator’s possible transfer to Fortenova, would ensure equal treatment for Slovenian suppliers.
Slovenian media said on Thursday that Fortenova had reported Počivalšek to the European Commission over statements which could be interpreted as pressure on a private company in the form of conditions for said transfer.
Commenting on this before Thursday’s meeting, Počivalšek said Slovenia was legitimately protecting the interests of its suppliers and that Slovenian laws applied in Slovenia, not Croatia’s Lex Agrokor.
More news about Fortenova (Agrokor) can be found in the Business section.
