After a meeting among representatives of the economy and finance ministries, the Bank Assets Management Company – Bad bank (BAMC), and the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH), Minister Počivalšek said the Italian investor notified them on Monday, via the media, that it was withdrawing from the acquisition of car industry supplier Cimos, unhappy about the negotiations between the Slovenian and Croatian bad banks. The minister pointed out that the Italians first notified the media about their withdrawal, and that he himself got involved in the negotiations because of Croatia’s unresponsiveness.

"We have prepared a plan B, according to which the bad bank (BAMC) will restructure the company according to the private investor principle," explained Počivalšek and added that Cimos was doing good business and not losing any customers. He stressed that the plan was not about state aid, as the BAMC would act in line with the private investor principle. The head of the BAMC, Imre Balogh, assured that the plan was about ensuring the stability of the company: "The BAMC will act as a private investor with all the risks involved. We will ensure that the company continues developing. In cooperation with the SSH we have already restructured the company and we will continue to do so."

An uknown financial framework for "plan B"
Mr. Balogh added that this was not a case of unlawful state aid "as this is in line with the private investor principle and includes all the responsibilities and not just financial aid." The financial details of the restructuring procedure were not revealed by Balogh, but he did hint that the restructuring would be done in the frameworks of what the Italian buyer had initially envisaged for Cimos, when it offered 110 thousand euros for the company and 20 million euros for investments. Answering questions related to the issue of unlawful state aid, Balogh said that the plan still had to be harmonized with the European Commission. Nevertheless, he was convinced that the European Commission would act in their favour.

Economy Minister Počivalšek added that up to now his team "has done everything in its power". He said one had to realize that the Italians and Croatians had been negotiating for half a year, and that progress in the negotiations "happened only when I got involved". Počivalšek did acknowledge that he also carries part of the responsibility for the withdrawal of the buyer, which according to him was a "buyer of questionable values". He added that he would have been more fearful if the restructuring procedure for Cimos was to be carried out by a buyer of questionable values.

Sa. J.; L. L.; A. Č.; translated by K. J.