Croatia’s state-owned fund for enterprise restructuring and privatisation, CERP, is offering for sale its entire interest of 17.9% in the country’s largest fertilizer producer, Petrokemija d.d., according to a SeeNews report, citing the company on June 6.
CERP is offering 9,852,828 shares, at a starting price of 305.4 million kuna (approximately $43.4 million at current exchange rates).
The overall nominal value of the shares is 98.5 million kuna, CERP said in a public call for binding bids for its stake in the company. The deadline to submit binding bids is July 6.
CERP is Petrokemija’s second largest shareholder. Terra Mineralna Gnojiva (TMG) is the fertilizer producer’s largest and controlling shareholder, holding a 54.517% stake. TMG is a joint venture comprising Croatian oil and gas group INA d.d. and Croatian gas company Prvo Plinarsko Društvo.
On Feb. 28, Petrokemija’s shareholders approved a proposal to delist the shares from the Zagreb Stock Exchange in February (GM March 4, p. 31), and on March 10, the Zagreb bourse delisted the shares of the fertilizer producer.
In January, Istanbul-based Yildirim Holding AS submitted a binding bid to acquire Petrokemija. The bid was reported to be valid until Jan. 31, but there has been no further public word since then (GM Jan. 14, p. 30). Yildirim owns the Turkish fertilizer producer Gemlik Gubre and is Turkey’s largest CAN and ammonia producer, and third largest fertilizer and chemicals trading company.