"We are looking into all options and economically acceptable offers. We will decide based on economic criteria and are not under pressure to sell as soon as possible," CEE Stock Exchange Group (CEESEG) has said.

"We cannot disclose details and decisions as yet. We will examine various options by the middle of the year," the company managing the stock exchanges of Budapest, Ljubljana, Prague and Vienna told the STA.

The company is happy with the interest prospective buyers have shown in Ljubljanska borza. "It proves we did our homework well. We have set up high standards and international quality within CEESEG."

CEESEG would not disclose the names of potential buyers, but the Slovenian business daily Finance has recently reported that the Ljubljana Stock Exchange is being eyed by its Zagreb counterpart.

Citing unofficial but reliable sources, Finance wrote that one of the reasons sparking the interest of the the Zagreb Stock Exchange was technology so that both markets could use the same platform.

The Ljubljana and Zagreb stock market operators have a long history of cooperation, for example through organisation of events for potential investors.

Since being taken over in October 2008 by Wiener Börse, which later transformed into CEESEG, the Ljubljana Stock Exchange has contracted both in terms of operations and number of companies listed.

Many of the companies have been sold so they delisted, while turnover in the shares of the remaining public companies is modest.