June 28 (SeeNews) - UAE investor Saif Alketbi said on Wednesday he will resist any further attempts by Croatia’s Fortenova management to sell company assets and that he offering a solution to settle Fortenova’s liabilities.
“It is regrettable that the refinancing was agreed with the obligation to sell key parts of Fortenova such as Belje, PIK Vinkovci and VUPIK, which underpin the Croatian economy,” Alketbi said in a press release.
You can subscribe to our M&A newsletter here
“Fortenova Group excels in producing high-quality domestic food and wine, and my intention is to invest in the development of this area and strengthen the Croatian food industry. I have a solution that ensures the stability and development of the Fortenova Group, and I am ready to continue investing in the company,” Alketbi added.
The investor made its statement after on Tuesday Fortenova shareholders approved a proposal to refinance its existing bond in the amount from 1.1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) to 1.2 billion euro with the group’s majority creditor, global company HPS Investment Partners. The proposal envisages the sale of its agriculture units as part of a the financing deal.
“This is an onerous debt burden, and attempts by Fortenova Group’s management to blame this on the company's ownership structure are at odds with reality. The management, instead of trying to find solutions which benefit the group, is using the company’s problems as a pretext to lead the Group to an unfavourable solution that only benefits the management and (another shareholder) Open Pass,” Alketbi opined.
Alketbi claims that he indirectly owns 43.41% of Fortenova Group. He bought SBK ART, the company, which holds a 43.41% stake in Fortenova, from Russia’s Sberbank on October 31, 2022, and considers that since then the company no longer belongs to anybody in Russia. At the time he bought SBK ART, the company itself was not on the EU list of sanctions against Russia introduced over the invasion of Ukraine.
The UAE investor believes that in April this year, Fortenova and its management started an unnecessary distressed sale process of the entire business.
“The result was that the process was effectively rigged and Fortenova received no bids,” the UAE investor claimed. He believes that no party made any offer to buy Fortenova Group MidCo B.V., the Dutch holding company that fully owns Fortenova, given the unrealistically short deadlines which the management imposed, as well as scare stories about the need to urgently refinance the company’s debt burden.
Alketbi said in a letter to international investment bank Lazard on June 16 that he declared a significant interest in acquiring Fortenova Group MidCo. B.V. at a reasonable price. Since Lazard continues to be retained by Fortenova management to explore the sale of MidCo, Alketbi has asked Lazard to share information relevant to his offer, including the structure of the proposed sale.
The UAE businessmen also said that on Tuesday the Court of Amsterdam found that SBK ART has the right to protect itself from disproportionate damage and claim compensation resulting from Fortenova management’s attempted sale of Fortenova MidCo. “While the Amsterdam court rejected an injunction sought by Mr Alketbi to prevent the sale attempt, the company management’s abandonment of the sale process earlier in June eliminates the need for that specific court action,” he added.
($ = 0.912 euro)