Fortenova Group becomes sole owner of Mercator

On April 1, Fortenova Group acquired all the remaining shares and became 100 percent owner of Mercator.

By transferring a total of 621,251 shares to Fortenova Group, the procedure of exclusion of minority shareholders from the ownership of Mercator has been completed, and Fortenova Group has become the sole shareholder of Mercator, according to the press release.

“With this last transaction, we completed the purchase process that actually started in 2014, and the fact that this last step was made precisely on the third anniversary of Fortenova Group’s operations has special symbolism. It was a long and demanding process, with many legal and financial intermediate steps all leading to the same goal – the formation of the leading regional retail consumer goods chain in the region. In the past year, since the formal transfer of Mercator to the ownership of Fortenova Group, we have concluded the process of excluding small shareholders, but more importantly, we have started to realize the full potential of our business model in retail, by achieving significant synergies in business operations, which we reinvest back into the Group,“ said Fabris Perusko, member of the Board of Directors and CEO of Fortenova Group regarding the acquisition of a 100 percent stake in Mercator.

What does the takeover of Mercator by Fortenova Group mean?

He also stressed that Mercator was the leading retailer of consumer goods in Slovenia, with significant shares in Serbia and Montenegro, Konzum was the leading retail chain of consumer goods in Croatia, while Konzum and Mercator had a significant combined share in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

„There are numerous possibilities of synergies that are provided to Konzum and Mercator through joint work within the biggest regional retail group, and this is precisely the lever for further  strengthening of our leadership positions on the markets,“ he said.

James Pearson, CFO of Fortenova Group, has said, in relation to the transaction, that the payment to minority shareholders of EUR 22.4 million was made using Fortenova Group’s own funds and that that showed the company’s growing financial and business strength.

The Group has made great progress over the past few years, and this last transaction completed another step in our plans, which gives us further opportunities for investments and growth, he added.

Izvor: BIZLife

Foto: Merkator