The Slovenia Times

Cimos sale in limbo as Italian buyer wants state guarantee

Nekategorizirano


The buyer is reported to want the state guarantee it will pay potential compensation related to Cimos's outstanding debt to a Croatian bank.

Aside from regulatory approval, the October deal is conditional on agreement with the Croatian state agency for deposit insurance and bank resolution related to Cimos's outstanding debt to Riječka banka, the daily Dnevnik reported on Wednesday.

According to the paper, the Croatian agency is seeking EUR 57m in compensation, and it has rejected two out-of-court settlement proposals put forward by the Italian buyer.

In the first proposal, Palladio Finanziaria offered EUR 3.2m in immediate compensation, while in the other the buyer proposed becoming a 40% owner of the Croatian part of Cimos.

The deadline for the second proposal, in which Palladio Finanziaria guaranteed to secure new orders for the Croatian part of Cimos, expired at the end of December.

The only remaining option, according to Dnevnik, is that the Slovenian state guarantees for the payment of compensation in case the court in Croatia rules in favour of the agency.

The deadline set by the Italian fund for the state to provide guarantees reportedly expires at the end of January.

If the state fails to provide guarantees and if an out-of-court settlement is not reached, Palladio Finanziaria is to withdraw from the deal.

In this case the company, which is a key employer in western Slovenia, will not be able to avoid ending in receivership, the paper notes.

The question is also whether the European Commission will define the potential state guarantee as illegal state aid.

The Commission approved in 2013 EUR 35m in temporary state aid and gave the green light to EUR 97m in state aid two years later.

Unofficially the Slovenian Sovereign Holding and the Bank Asset Management Company (BAMC) are involved in finding a solution, but BAMC said it could not comment on ongoing activities aimed at meeting pending requirements of the transaction.

Share:

More from Nekategorizirano