Although there are several managers among those who have signed the equity agreement, Kovintrade says this is not a management buyout.

Kovintrade is owned by companies Celjski Sejem, which runs the Celje fairgrounds, and Liko, a producer of steel crash barriers, as well as its employees.

A takeover intent was published this week by Celjski Sejem, Liko and Bartimaeus as well as Kovintrade CEO Marko Staroveški, management board members and former supervisor Boštjan Jeraj on behalf of those who signed the equity agreement.

As Staroveški told the STA, the majority of those who had signed the agreement were Kovintrade employees doing various jobs, as well as some former, retired employees and important business partners from the area of Celje.

The company also said it planned no changes to the business model, employment or locations where it was doing business.

The Kovintrade Group was founded in 1990 and has become a leading trading company in metallurgic products in the Slovenian market.

It consists of the Celje-based Kovintrade parent company and a network of subsidiaries and representation offices in eleven European countries.

According to its website, it does business with more than 5,500 buyers and 1,500 suppliers in 50 countries.

Kovintrade ended 2017 with 151.3 million euro in revenue, which is roughly a quarter more than in 2016, when it reached 119.8 million.

Its net profit almost doubled from 1.05 million euro to 1.95 million, with EBITDA rising from 3.1 million euro to 4.4 million.

The management said the results were "solid", adding that the group had "managed to take advantage of favourable market conditions".