Conglomerate Istrabenz on Friday announced a bid to acquire the 40% of food company Droga Kolinska that it does not own already. The offer stands at EUR 16 per share - well below the EUR 17.53 that Droga Kolinska fetched on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange yesterday - and values the outstanding share at EUR 91m.
Istrabenz said it has already signed a pre-contract with two undisclosed shareholders for the purchase of their combined 14.85% stake in Droga Kolinska, which increases its shareholding to over 75%.
The tourism, energy and food conglomerate says the takeover bid is a way of taking responsibility for and control over restructuring at Droga Kolinska.
"The group faces a tough period of risky restructuring of the portfolio of programmes and brands. This is crucial if we are to secure the long-term success of Droga Kolinska as it competes with global corporations," Istrabenz CEO Igor Bavcar wrote in a press release.
"The fulfillment of the objectives demands a series of decisions and risky business moves which cannot be carried out unless Istrabenz takes responsibility for their realisation."
Istrabenz said the offer reflected the underlying value of the company, whereas the current market price was a result of poor liquidity on the stock market. The share shed 2.6% to EUR 17.07 in early trading.
Istrabenz currently owns just over 60% of Droga Kolinska. Other major shareholders include financial firms Maksima Holding (12.76%) and Poteza Nalozbe (9.99%) and Bank Austria Creditanstalt (3.36%).
Droga Kolinska was created with the merger of two food companies (Droga and Kolinska) in January 2005 which was masterminded by Istrabenz. The merged company was taken public to great fanfare in October 2005, but it has been struggling to fulfil the expectations of investors.
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