Ljubljana - The shareholders of Slovenian retailer Mercator, owned by Croatia's Fortenova, met on Tuesday to confirm the retailer's withdrawal from the stock market, according to the minutes of the meeting posted on the website of the Slovenian Agency for Public Legal Records. The decision will be implemented when entered into the court register.

The shareholders decided to delist all 6,257,610 ordinary shares of Mercator, of which 42,192 are own shares and the rest belong to Fortenova.

Trading in Mercator shares on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange has been suspended since 22 March, after the shareholders' decision from last December to squeeze out small shareholders was entered into the court register on 17 March.

Mercator has been under the wing of the Fortenova group since April 2021, when its shares were transferred onto the group from bankrupt Agrokor, which acquired Mercator in 2014.

Fortenova initially owned 89.11% of Mercator, raising the share to 90% at the general meeting last September and deciding three months later to squeeze out small shareholders.