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Southeast Europe
February 23, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 16
Trading in Agrokor Group companies suspended
as emergency manager quits
bne IntelliNews
Ante Ramljak, the extraordinary manager of troubled Croatian food and retail group Agrokor, has resigned. After the news was announced
on February 21 the Zagreb Stock Exchange suspended trade in all listed Agrokor companies — Zvijezda, Leda, Jamnica, Zitnjak, PIK Vinkovci and Vupik — until a solution is found.
Ramljak was appointed by the Croatian government to manage Agrokor in April 2017
after a debt crisis prompted a run on its bonds, bringing the group close to collapse. In November, Agrokor accepted creditor claims worth HRK41.2bn (€5.4bn) but disputed other claims worth a total of HRK16.5bn.
Since April, Ramljak has spearheaded work to stabilise the company and take out new emergency loans, and had been seeking a restructuring deal with its creditors before his resignation.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic sought to allay fears of a collapse of the country’s largest employer, saying that Ramljak would stay until a replacement is found, and that the situation within the company is stable.
"In this moment, a key message I want to send
to all employees within Agrokor, its vendors and creditors, is that the process of extraordinary management goes on, the settlement process goes on, that Agrokor and all its companies work normally and that the government at this moment is conducting consultations in order to propose
to the Commercial Court the appointment of an
extraordinary administration. In the meantime Ramljak will continue his work as it has been
so far," Plenkovic said at an extraordinary press conference called on February 21 after Ramljak's resignation, regional broadcaster N1 reported.
Just six days earlier, Ramljak gave an account of developments at Agrokor to a parliamentary commission, asking at the same time for
an extension to the deadline for reaching a settlement with creditors until July.
However, his position had become increasingly controversial, with accusations against the extraordinary manager — ranging from the circumstances under which he was appointed to his decision to select his former firm Texo management to work with — reaching a crescendo in local media.
On February 21 Agrokor published a statement saying Ramljak had submitted his “irrevocable resignation” to Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović.
“Unfortunately, the uncertainty that was created in connection with my stay at the position of an extraordinary commissioner is strongly against this process,” Ramljak said in the statement on Agrokor’s website.
“I give the irrevocable resignation to the position of the extraordinary trustee so that I do not personally become an obstacle to reaching a settlement. Agrokor's creditors and employees, who are the only ones involved and because of