Pivovarna Lasko, the largest beverage producer in Slovenia, had said that it would be selling off its shareholdings in Mercator, the largest food retailer in the country. The shares in Mercator would be purchased by Agrokor, food producer and retailer from Croatia.

The move opens the road for the sale of Mercator since Lasko is part of a group of local firms and banks that are selling off their combined 53% share in the food retailer. In that 53%, Lasko owns 23% of Mercator.

As stated in local media reports, Agrokor would pay Eur120 per Mercator share. At this price, the enterprise value of Mercator would be at Eur450 million or US$598.48 million. 

When sought for comments on the reported transaction, both Agrokor and Mercator refused to provide any comment to the media.

This is part of the overall program by the Slovenian government, who owns shareholdings in the companies and banks that have shareholdings in Mercator. The government is expected to sell off its shareholdings in another 15 firms, one of them Slovenian telecoms firm Telekom.