EBRD Decreases Ownerhip Share in Atlantic Group: Company's New Development Stage Announced

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has decreased its ownership share in the Atlantic Group, thus directly increasing the company’s share liquidity in the Zagreb Stock Exchange. The Atlantic Group said in a statement that, more importantly, the transaction signalled a successful completion of one of the company’s development stages and its readiness to make a new strategic breakthrough.

In a private bid run by the Intercapital Securities society, the EBRD sold 132,615 shares, accounting for 3.98 percent of the Atlantic Group shares. By keeping its ownership share of 2 percent, after the transaction the EBRD remains the company’s strategic partner ready to offer its further support through different forms of cooperation (injection of fresh capital, a new loan or meyzzanine financing).

“Thanks to a strong business model, a wise strategy and an experienced management team, the Atlantic deserves its reputation of a successful company capable of adapting speedily to changing market conditions. By keeping its ownership share, the EBRD continues to back further development as well as growth and expansion plans of the Atlantic Group, laying special emphasis on cross-border and international activities. By reducing our investment scope, we continue to help encourage the company’s share liquidity, equally supporting the Atlantic’s development strategy and the development of the local capital market,” Miljan Zdrale, director of the EBRD Agribusiness Sector for Central and Southeast Europe, said.

Emil Tedeski, chairman of the Atlantic Group management board, believes that the EBRD recognised the value and potential of the Atlantic Group in the early days of the company’s development, permanently supporting its ambition to grow and prosper.

“We are glad that the EBRD remains our shareholder and investor as a partner focused on sustainability in all aspects of business operation, including a broader development of the Croatian capital market, which it confirmed with its latest transaction.”

Cooperation between the Atlantic Group and the EBRD, which can be described as long and successful, started in June 2014 when the EBRD joined the company’s ownership structure. With an injection of fresh capital, making it a company co-owner, this international financial institution backed the biggest acquisition in which the Atlantic Group took over Slovene’s food processing company Droga Kolinska. In the next few years, the EBRD continued to back the Atlantic Group’s development through two loan refinancing arrangements, first in late 2012 and then recently, in early May 2016. Compared to the point at which the EBRD joined the company, today the Atlantic Group’s debt is almost twice lower.

It should be recalled that the AZ mandatory pension fund invested about EUR 14.4 million in the purchase of nearly 4 percent of the Atlantic Group, thus increasing its share in it to over 8 percent.

EBRD London

Atlantic group Zagreb

Droga Kolinska d.d. Ljubljana

DROGA KOLINSKA d.o.o. Zagreb

AZ mirovinski fondovi Zagreb

Atlantic Group

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

EBRD

Zagreb Stock Exchange

Intercapital Securities

injection of fresh capital

loan

Miljan Zdrale

Emil Tedeski

Croatian capital market

Droga Kolinska

AZ mandatory pension fund