In the last weeks several sales agreements of Slovene companies were concluded.
The current M&A activity in Slovenia has various reasons. Some companies need strategic partners, some owners would like to take advantage of the peak of the economic cycle, and in some cases the companies’ value is underestimated or buyers would like to get rid of competition.
The biggest transaction in process is the take-over of Gorenje, a producer of household appliances, by the Chinese company Hisense. Gorenje is listed on the Prime Market of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, representing 5% of its capitalisation. The state fund KAD, with 16% ownership share, has already decided to accept the offer. The total value of the transaction will be slightly below EUR 300 million if all owners accept the offer.
In the name of its biggest shareholders, Slovene banks, PWC published a public call to express their interest to buy a 72.13% stake in the logistic company Intereuropa. The company is also listed on the Prime Market of Ljubljana Stock Exchange with market capitalisation of EUR 39 million. The owners had already tried to sell Intereuropa in 2016, but the deal fell through after the sellers failed to agree on the final terms.
In the beginning of June the take-over bid for chemical company Cinkarna Celje was published by Anatol, a Luxembourg company associated with Martens Management Group. Listed on the Standard Market of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, it has a market capitalisation of almost EUR 200 million. However, Anatol withdrew from the bid mid-June because they were not able to execute due diligence in time. There were also rumours that existing shareholders were not satisfied with the price of EUR 220 per share.
In addition to that, a few bigger deals of non-listed companies are taking place. One of them is the sale of insurance company Adriatic Slovenica, owned by KD group, to Generali from Italy for EUR 245 million. If the regulator approves the deal, the transaction will be executed after the summer holidays and Generali, which has been present in Slovenia for years, will become the second biggest insurance company on the market.
Another transaction is the sale of starter battery producer TAB, which is just at the end of negotiations with South African Metair. The total value of the transaction is EUR 300 million. The shares of TAB are traded on the MTF platform SI ENTER.
All these events have had positive effects on the LJSE; The SBI TOP has increased by more than 10% since the beginning of the year.
Vanda Mocnik-Kohek
Senior Relationship Manager
Global Securities Services Slovenia
vanda.mocnik-kohek@unicreditgroup.si