The banks, which seized the stakes from Infond Holding in 2009, as well as some minority owners of Lasko have already signed an agreement on the sale of a combined 64.12% stake in the group, according to the paper.

The sellers are NLB (23.88%), Hypo Alpe Adria (7.18%), Probanka (7.14%), Gorenjska banka (6.3%), Abanka (3.31%), Banka Celje (2.13%), NKBM (1.02%) and the financial firm NFD 1 (5.18%).

NLB told the STA today that it had not yet signed the agreement, but was working to sing it. The bank would like to sell the shareholding in Lasko because the investment does not fit in its prime business activity.

The state-owned fund KAD would also like to sell its 7.17% stake in Lasko, but has still not joined the agreement, while it is not ruled out that other owners will join the sale as well, Finance said.

The sellers expect to sign the agreement with the potential buyer by the end of the year in order to strike Lasko out of their balance sheets, despite the fact that they would get the proceeds only in the next year.

According to Finance, the banks will now select a consultancy firm which would send a bid to potential strategic buyers from the real sector and to financial funds.

While the banks have been gearing up for sale for months, financial firm KS Nalozbe published at the beginning of August an all-bond takeover bid for Pivovarna Lasko, expiring on 30 September.

The owners of Lasko rejected the offer from the financial firm, which is controlled by Igor Lah, one of the richest Slovenians, through the Cyprus-based holding Kalantia Limited.

Responding to the report by Finance, Lah said that if the banks really were selling their stakes in Lasko, this was good news for KS Nalozbe, which was seriously interested in acquiring the beverage company.

Lah hopes his firm would be allowed to carry out due diligence at Pivovarna Lasko in order to reduce risks such as potential legal problems, including a denationalisation process at affiliate Radenska and a lawsuit by minor shareholders and uncertainty regarding the sale of retailer Mercator.

"If the risks in the mentioned factors could be substantially reduced, there may be a correction in the price and change of the manner of payment offered," Lah said in a reference to his all-bond bid, which has been rejected by Lasko owners.