Some might stir strong contradictions, most of all the sale of NKBM and Cinkarna Celje. From the 15 companies which have been on the sell-off list for two years, one third has been sold, i.e. Helios, Fotona, Ljubljanski Aerodrom, Letrika and Žito.

The sale of NKBM is almost a done deal; according to the information we have the representatives of the Slovenian Sovereign Holding are finalizing the last details of the contract with the US private equity fund Apollo. At the last rehabilitation the bank received 870 million euros, while according to unofficial information the potential buyer has offered for it only approximately 200 million.

Based on the experiences so far the sale of Cinkarna Celje will face opposition as well. The Union of the company is already rebelling against selling at a discount price; Cinkarna is also facing environmental issues. The interest in Cinkarna Celje has been shown by the Austrian company Treibacher Industrie owned by the German billionaire August von Finck, and the Polish Grupo Azoty.

These days the procedures for sale have been initiated also for Adria Airways; they have been going on for Unior Zreče for at least half a year, Paloma is in the middle of recapitalization, Aero went bankrupt, and Terme Olimia remain in status quo.

Urška Jereb Brankovič, Radio Slovenija;
Translated by G. K.