Turkey’s Yildirim Holding AS is looking to secure full ownership of Croatian fertilizer producer Petrokemija dd, in which it already owns a 54.517% controlling stake.
The Turkish company is reported to have submitted an investment plan for Petrokemija to the Croatian government, which holds a 45% stake in the fertilizer company, according to a SeeNews report, citing Croatian daily Poslovni Dnevnik.
According to the report, Petrokemija suspended production in September just two months after restarting it in July following a 15-month stoppage due to high natural gas prices and unfavorable market conditions (GM July 21, p. 29).
Yildirim has reportedly proposed three options for its future ownership relationship of Petrokemija. One involves a capital increase by the Turkish company, which would result in a reduction in the state’s stake in the fertilizer producer. Another option is the sale of the government’s holding, followed by a squeeze-out of the other shareholder, which holds about 0.3% of the capital. A third option is reported to involve a joint capital increase by the Croatian state and Yildirim, with their contributions aligned with their respective shares in Petrokemija.
However, according to the Poslovni Dnevnik report, with general elections scheduled for next year, Croatia’s government is unlikely to make a decision regarding the state’s share in the fertilizer producer during the current term of office.
Yildirim completed the acquisition of its 54.517% stake in Petrokemija in April after reaching an agreement in November last year with Croatian oil and gas group ING dd and Croatian gas company Prvo Plinarsko Društvo to acquire Terra Mineralna Gnojiva company (TMG), which held a 54.517% stake in the Croatian fertilizer producer (GM Nov. 18, 2022).
Petrokemija is Croatia’s sole fertilizer producer. Its nameplate production capacity for nitrogen fertilizer includes 0.45 million mt/y of ammonia, 0.31 million mt/y of ammonium nitrate, 0.5 million mt/y of urea, and 0.2 million mt/y of UAN, according to the Green Markets database.