Recapitalisation completed, Paloma takeover bid due in a month
The takeover intent was published in Wednesday's issue of daily Delo by Eco Investment and its Slovak subsidiary Eco Invest. The bid is expected by 27 January.
Eco Invest is expected to offer EUR 4.01 per share for Paloma, as much as it paid for the shares acquired from the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH), which had managed a 71% state stake in Paloma.
Eco Invest has just completed a EUR 18.2m recapitalisation of Paloma in accordance with a decision endorsed in July by Paloma shareholders, including the SSH.
Through the recapitalisation, the company's share capital increased from EUR 5m to EUR 11.9m.
The new owner plans to invest an additional EUR 70m in Paloma in the coming years in a bid to make it into a regional development centre. The company's headcount is to increase from 700 to 900.
The recapitalisation by Eco Invest was endorsed after the Polish equity fund Abris Capital withdrew its EUR 15m recapitalisation bid due to delays caused by minority shareholders challenging its bid.
Paloma reported a net profit of EUR 1.9m on EUR 64.5m in sales revenue in the first nine months of the year. The revenue was up by 2% and operating profit jumped 260% year-on-year to EUR 2.6m.
The company, which puts out some 70,000 tonnes of tissue paper a year, was one of the 15 state-owned enterprises slated for privatisation in 2013.