The news was confirmed for the STA by Laško supervisory board president Vladimir Malenković.

Laško directly owns 8.43% of Mercator but two of its subsidiaries are in possession of another 15% and are likely to follow the parent company's lead in endorsing the plan.

The news comes after Delo reported that the state-owned NLB bank had already sold its 10.75% stake in Mercator and that the government has also given its stamp of approval.

Laško and NLB head a consortium of sellers, mostly banks, that have been trying to sell off a majority stake in Mercator since last year.

Agrokor is reportedly offering EUR 120 per share, down from its previous offer of EUR 221 per share at the end of last year.

It will also take over Mercator's EUR 1.1bn debt.

The proposed deal, which will have to be approved by regulators in several countries, values Mercator at just over EUR 400m.