ZAGREB, March 19, 2018 – The Slovenian Supreme Court has overturned an appeal by the indebted Croatian food and retail conglomerate Agrokor against the ruling by the Ljubljana District Court which does not recognise Agrokor as a foreign entity in insolvency proceedings under Slovenian law, according to Slovenian media.
The Supreme Court passed the ruling last Wednesday, and lawyers say this means that Agrokor’s assets in Slovenia are no longer protected against possible foreclosure proceedings.
In June 2017, following a motion by the then government-appointed emergency administrator of Agrokor Ante Ramljak, the Ljubljana District Court initially recognised the emergency administration process at the indebted Croatian conglomerate as insolvency proceedings under Slovenian law, as a result of which Agrokor’s property in Slovenia, first and foremost the Mercator retail chain, was protected against possible foreclose actions by Agrokor’s creditors.
The Slovenian government later appealed the ruling and the Ljubljana District Court upheld it. The Supreme Court has now confirmed the District Court ruling.
The District Court and the Supreme Court have found that the emergency administration at Agrokor does not ensure equal treatment of all creditors as guaranteed in insolvency proceedings in Slovenia. They said that, if Croatia’s Agrokor law applied in Slovenia, it would apply to Mercator, which is solvent and can service its obligations.
