Sberbank asking for Mercator in exchange for Agrokor debt?

The District Court of Ljubljana upheld the complaint by Sberbank and rejected the validity of Lex Agrokor in Slovenia. This way, the Russian bank will be able to ask for Mercator in exchange for the debt of Agrokor.

Lex Agrokor, in line with which the Croatian authorities have taken over the management of the Agrokor concern’s considerable debts, does not honor the principle of equal treatment of creditors, according to the District Court of Ljubljana.

The manner of carrying out the restructuring of Agrokor chosen by Croatia – the so-called material consolidation – equalizes creditors in different positions.

According to Lex Agrokor, the creditors with claims towards more successful parts of the Agrokor conglomerate stand to be paid less than if the law was not in effect, and those who have claims towards the companies experiencing problems stand to receive more than they would have.

This goes against Slovenia’s bankruptcy law and, because Agrokor has creditors and property in Slovenia, the District Court of Ljubljana has not recognized the validity of Lex Agrokor in Slovenia.

The upheld the decision reached based on the complaint by the Russian Sberbank, that is, the Slovenian branch of Sberbank. Sberbank is Agrokor’s creditor and is requiring shares of Mercator, which is among the more successful parts of Agrokor.

If Lex Agrokor was valid in Slovenia, the extraordinary manager of the Croatian concern, Ante Ramljak, would be able to sell Mercator and split the earnings between the creditors, says Professor Miha Juhart of the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana. This way, however, it is more likely that Sberbank will try to get a bigger stake in Mercator in court.

Sberbank took over 18.53% shares owned by Agrokor’s Dutch company Agrokor B.V. earlier.

Poslovni sistem Mercator d.d. Ljubljana

Fortenova grupa d.d.

SBERBANK Rusija

District Court of Ljubljana

Lex Agrokor

Agrokor operations

Lex Mercator

Miha Juhart

Mercator operations

Mercator