Apart from the Pivovarna Laško group, which holds the biggest, 23.34% share, the consortium will also include the state-owned NLB bank (10.75% share), and banks NKBM, Gorenjska banka, Abanka, Banka Koper, Hypo, Banka Celje, investments fund NFD 1 and NFD Holding, and Prvi faktor-Faktoring Beograd.

According to the draft sales contract, the stakeholders believe that the consortium will enable them to get the best price.

They have decided that the sale be handled by the London-based ING bank, which was also in charge of the last sale attempt.

If ING receives no binding offers that the consortium would find appropriate within three months after the signing of the contract, the consortium will be dissolved.

The Laško supervisory board backed the sale at Thursday's session, chief supervisor Vladimir Malenković confirmed for the STA.

He said the beverage group's management would foremost strive to protect the interests of Laško and other companies from the group in the sales talks.

The companies from the consortium except for Prvi faktor-Faktoring Beograd tried to sell a joint 52.1% stake at the end of last year and the beginning of this year but the sale to Mercator's rival Agrokor from Croatia, which offered EUR 221 per share, fell through.