According to the paper, Factor Financing, a financial subsidiary of Gazprom, is in the midst of completing the acquisition of Platanus, the firm which bought Terme Maribor in April 2012, through a debt-to-equity swap.

The reason for the acquisition of the secretive Russian hotel owner is trouble with the repayment of loans taken out to complete the EUR 30m acquisition from NFD Holding and Sava.

The deal which will pave the way for Factor Financing to control 70% of Terme Maribor was confirmed for the paper by the lawyer of Platanus, Matjaž Kirbiš.

The capital injection has already been endorsed by the general assembly of Platanus and is now awaiting confirmation for the courts. The financial firm will convert EUR 25m in claims to Platanus into equity, Dnevnik says.

The report adds that the operations of Terme Maribor have declined since the arrival of Platanus, with annual revenues down by 15% in this period to EUR 36m, of which only a fifth is generated with hospitality services.

Terme Maribor recently announced it had reached agreement on a one-year lease of four hotels at the Pohorje ski resort following the collapse of the resort operator ŠC Pohorje. The deal will give it a stranglehold on lodging capacities at Slovenia's biggest ski resort.