July the 14th, 2021 - The Croatian TheGepek platform (TheBoot/Trunk) allows quite literally anyone to become a ''deliveryman on the way'', and the coronavirus pandemic is the one ''to thank'' for its creation.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, over recent years, Croatia has experienced the expansion of various courier services, and the coronavirus crisis has raised this micrologistics to an even higher level. Today, delivery is organised within deadlines that are measured in hours or even minutes. Their added value came to light during the height of the pandemic when many people weren't leaving their homes and still needed to send and receive items, whether they be store supplies, food or even medicine.

However, the main disadvantage of these services is that they are mainly related to large cities, and the rest of Croatia, especially smaller settlements and villages, are left in the hands of Croatian Post and large suppliers whose delivery deadlines are often measured in days as opposed to mere minutes.

Noticing this issue, the Croatian TheGepek platform was launched last year, based on the principle that almost anyone can be a delivery person who can accept or deliver a package to a location they're already travelling to, for which they will, of course, receive a fee.

TheGepek, started by a brother and sister, Dario and Carla Ferreri, and subsequently joined by entrepreneur Kristijan Skarica who specialises in the development of startups, has entered into cooperation with the Croatian IT champion, Vodnjan's remarkable Infobip.

As Carla Ferreri explains, she sees joining the InfoBip Startup Tribe programme as the beginning of a fruitful and long-lasting collaboration for both participants.

“We're a small company which is only just developing its business, but we're growing and currently have about 2,000 customers. It's known what Infobip represents in Croatia and the world today, and our attachment to them through the Startup Tribe is a great thing in itself. Infobip announced competition for startups that they'd like to help, so we applied and soon they told us that we'd entered the programme and asked what we needed and wanted so that they could help us as much as possible. As they develop communication technology that is very important to us for expanding our delivery business, we've agreed that they make several of our programmes and tools available to us, free of charge,'' says Carla Ferreri.

She added that Infobip, through the Startup Tribe programme, has provided them with its own network of partners, investors and all other contacts, and therefore they expect that this will greatly help them in developing their business.

"Of course, this is a win-win situation, because with the growth and internationalisation of the business, we'll have the need to increase our use of Infobip's tools, so in this way we're developing rapidly, and Infobip is creating new customers and markets," noted Carla Ferreri.

The Croatian TheGepek platform was created back during the very height of the coronavirus pandemic last year when little was known, chaos reigned and all the shortcomings of the existing courier services came racing to the forefront.

"We came up with the idea one afternoon when it was necessary to deliver a package, some medicine, from Zagreb to the vicinity of Zadar quite urgently. The delivery deadline option we were given, from the post office to the distribution houses, was on average four days because there was a weekend ahead of us, that was just unacceptable to us. We solved our problem that day according to the principle of calling a friend, and the very next day the idea of ​​developing TheGepek was born,'' explained Carla Ferreri.

The Croatian TheGepek platform is based on the sharing economy, the so-called a carpooling cost-sharing model with the possibility of package sending flexibility that the current package distribution market doesn't yet offer. As it is based on a large number of non-professional vendors, the platform also has security options specific to similar systems and rating systems. TheGepek plans to include virtual currencies in its business in the coming period, but more will be known at the end of the month.

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

July the 12th, 2021 - The Croatian Koncar company, which is very well known on a global scale for its expertise and high quality work, has succeeded on the Asian market as Japanese jobs are contracted.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, the Croatian Koncar - Generators and Engines (GIM), owned by its parent company Koncar - Elektroindustrija, made a very significant step forward onto the challenging Asian market back in mid-May.

Following two entire years of continuous bidding and a tough negotiation process, the Croatian Koncar company earned a large contract over in Japan for the first time in its history. In this regard, the company, one of the components of the Koncar Group, pointed out that the delivery of the signed contract includes "the design, production and supervision during the installation of three generators for two different small hydropower plants."

The first phase of the project will be completed with the successful commissioning of a 5.2 MVA synchronous generator (240 min-1) at Shin Sakagami SHPP, they explained, while the second stage will be completed when the 5.2 MVA (240 min-1) synchronous generator is put into operation, followed by an asynchronous generator with a nominal power of 0.546 MW (366 min-1) at SHE Utsubo.

This is a contract that is a continuation of the Croatian Koncar company's highly successful cooperation with an Austrian turbine manufacturer, and over the next three years the two companies should justify the trust placed in them by Japanese consultants with their work. However, given the fact that this is the first time that Japanese investors have chosen a turbine manufacturer based in Europe, Koncar GIM will not only work hard to introduce itself, but is also expected to be a pioneer in opening the market to other European manufacturers.

This market is widely known for being very demanding, and the company got involved in a challenging project precisely due to typically demanding Japanese consultants and sky high expectations. The Austrian partner and the customer have recognised the competencies and capabilities of the Croatian Koncar, which are harder and harder to find, and decided they were by far the best choice for this kind of solution.

It also turns out that Japan is one of the markets in this segment that puts quality, technical solution and good communication in the first place, above all else. After the first contract on the Japanese market, Koncar could expect many other similar projects in the future, as well as more in various other areas of business. It's worth noting that the share of exports in total revenues from the sales of Koncar Group products and services with references to 130 world markets in the first quarter of this year reached 67 percent, and the most significant exports were realized in Germany, Sweden, the UAE and Austria.

Two thirds of the the Croatian Koncar company's total exports go to the EU market, which again speaks of the quality of their products and the solutions that they successfully offer in this also very demanding market. Koncar GIM has 375 hydropower plants built and revitalised across the world - individual products are adapted to customer requirements and form a niche market for the company's business, and 700 generators are produced and revitalised. Their business results are based on their own product development and production, cooperation with other companies operating under the wider Koncar umbrella, as well as numerous scientific institutions.

For more, follow our dedicated business section.

July the 3rd, 2021 - Vaccination against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, although not mandatory, might well be required before companies can receive Croatian economic aid if it can be implemented constitutionally.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic stated that he thinks it would be fair that in a time of crisis, when the state provides vaccines and salaries for the normal functioning of the entire system, for everyone to make some form of small contribution to the effort.

"If someone is going to be a beneficiary of the Croatian economic aid, let's say job preservation support, then it would be good for them to be vaccinated,'' said the Prime Minister, but without adding further details on just how government economic support will be linked to vaccination.

The ministers of labour and health, Josip Aladrovic and Vili Beros, have now been tasked with specifying measures to be taken by the Croatian Employment Service to link the two processes.

For the moment, this is just an idea announced by the Croatian Government, it's possible that it will be legally and constitutionally difficult to implement, and for now it looks like pressure to workers in those sectors which had to be closed during lockdown, to get vaccinated. However, the Prime Minister said recently that a solution would be sought that would be legal and constitutional, Jutarnji list writes.

"We can't have unlimited government economic measures because the whole of Europe is moving in the direction of job creation, but there are still sectors, such as the catering and hospitality sector, which has partial restrictions, and those that have no restrictions, but are affected because they're objectively disabled, such as transport, tourism, the event industry. Our task now is to engage in dialogue with employers and move on to tailored sectoral measures. So, it isn't just going to be towards everyone as it was before,'' the Prime Minister explained after a recently held Government session.

Until the end of the year, the measure of reduced working hours is set to remain in force. Plenkovic noted that in agreement with the representatives of employers, trends will be monitored and responded to in time if necessary, which will keep pace with active employment policy measures, and in which more than a billion kuna will be invested this year.

Recently, the government also adopted a support programme for vulnerable activities in the sectors of transport, tourism, culture and the event industry. It is actually a reimbursement of fixed costs that these activities didn't have before because they weren't formally closed by the decision of the National Civil Protection Directorate, but suffered heavy losses regardless.

The grants are worth a total of 150 million kuna, and the amount is provided by the budget revision. Those who have recorded a drop in revenue of at least 75 percent compared to 2019 will be able to apply for this form government economic support. In the transport sector, fixed costs will be reimbursed to companies for land and sea passenger transport, as well as to travel agencies and tour operators related to nautical transport. In the tourism sector, the support refers to travel agencies, up to a maximum of 10,000 kuna per worker.

In the event industry sector, companies that organise festivals, concerts and similar cultural and artistic events, as well as events intended for professionals in the field of cultural and creative industries, are eligible, Jutarnji list has learned.

For more, follow our business section.

June the 16th, 2021 - When it comes to innovative Croatian companies being noticed on a global scale, the list is only continuing to grow and provide a spring in the step of certain sectors in the country. Clutch has recently listed the Zagreb company Ingemark among the 100 fastest growing.

As Novac writes, with more and more of the population being vaccinated against the novel coronavirus and the gradual relaxation of anti-epidemic measures, the economy also appears to be waking up, finally. According to the latest Eurostat data, Croatia's GDP in the first quarter of 2021 grew by 5.8 percent when compared to the previous quarter.

Last year, the year dominated by an unprecedented global public health crisis, was extremely challenging and impossible to predict for the entire economy, but only positive news came from the blossoming Croatian IT sector. The Zagreb company Ingemark, which deals with the development of custom software, has been listed by Clutch among the top 100 fastest growing.

Clutch, one of the world’s leading global B2B rating and review companies, highlights one hundred of the world’s fastest growing companies each year, as well as the top 100 companies with sustainable growth based on financial data. The Zagreb company Ingemark, which ended last year with impressive revenues of 14.3 million kuna, which is 6.4 million kuna more than back in pre-pandemic 2019, has rightfully been included. Viktor Matic, the director of Ingemark, was also more than satisfied with another success.

''We're flattered to have been placed on the list of the 100 fastest growing companies in the world. That means our engineers are doing a great job and I’m proud of that. The moves we've made over the past couple of years have focused on the development of Ingemark, organisational changes and a much more careful evaluation of projects before we take them over. We've completely changed our organisation and we're constantly evolving, so this inclusion in the top 100 companies is, in a way, a confirmation that we are on the right track, which I'm extremely proud of,'' stated Matic.

The companies on this list are mainly headquartered in the US, Australia and India. A smaller number, about 10 percent of the list, are companies with more than 1,000 employees, and most of them, more than 50 percent, are companies with less than 50 employees, including the Zagreb company Ingemark, which currently has 40 employees, but plans to increase that number.

''The indicative target is to reach 70 employees by the end of 2022. I think it's hard to plan for a longer period than that. With this intense growth in the number of employees, it is important to set up processes that will ensure that all employees know at all times what is expected of them and what they can expect from their colleagues. In that sense, defining the process is certainly one of our priorities, and as part of that, we recently certified the company according to ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 standards,'' said Matic.

For 2021, Clutch’s ranking of the 100 fastest-growing companies is based on their absolute revenue growth rate from 2019 to 2020, while the top 100 companies with sustainable growth are based on their absolute revenue growth rate from 2017 to 2020. With excellent business and an increase in employees, the Zagreb company Ingemark expects revenue growth of up to 25 million kuna by the end of this year.

Judging by the statement of Tajana Barancic, the longtime president of CISEx, who said back in February that the IT sector will grow by at least 10 percent this year, and its exports by 20 percent, more positive news from the Croatian IT sector is to be expected by the end of the year.

For more, follow our dedicated business section.

June the 16th, 2021 - The Zagreb company Bellabeat, a Croatian startup which has gained traction and a lot of attention as time has gone on, has presented its brand new smart bracelet.

As Novac/Bernard Ivezic writes, Bellabeat initially started producing smart bracelets seven years ago, of which, according to Business Insider, Leaf Urban and Leaf Chakra were named the best pieces of smart jewellery in the entire world back in February. The company has since completed the development of a new smart bracelet named Ivy. There are more than 50,000 pre-orders for it already, and this also means that the Zagreb company Bellabeat has more than 50,000 new subscribers.

Namely, with the creation of this new smart bracelet, the Zagreb company Bellabeat is changing its business model, and now its bracelets include a monthly subscription.

Sandro Mur, the co-founder and CEO of the Zagreb company Bellabeat, explained that Ivy better monitors heart and respiratory health, enabling the company to provide its customers with better quality information not only about their physical health but also their mental health, which is often forgotten about but is just as important.

Twenty long months of development...

''We're very proud of the new Bellabeat product, which we've been designing and perfecting for more than 20 months to come to a solution that is perfectly aligned with all the needs of women today,'' says Mur.

He explains that Ivy measures calories, distances, active pulse, exercise intensity during the day and monitors meditation, and at night it monitors sleep duration, sleep quality, resting heart rate, respiration and heart coherence. Based on the above and additional data collected through the app, Mur states that they offer a range of indicators on body readiness, wellness and even menstrual cycle.

''Ivy has advanced sensors to measure steps and active time spent, as well as all other parameters it monitors, and the design, which is aimed at women, offers them the chance to monitor their body dynamics throughout the day to allow them to better understand their own body and individual needs better than any other similar product on the market,'' says Mur.

In saying that, he is primarily thinking of the loudest competitor in the segment of smart items - Apple. The Zagreb company Bellabeat, for example, claims that its smart device can estimate when the user should give up on doing their next exercise due to exhaustion and a risk of becoming unwell. This assessment is made by advanced algorithms developed by the Croatian startup itself, and are trained on what is probably the largest private health database in Croatia.

The company states that it has more than 100 billion sets of health data about its users. This is an extremely important piece of information because the more data a algorithm can be trained on, the more accurate it is. It isn't known how much Bellabeat smart jewellery has been sold to date, but the latest known data from 2017 indicates that it had then sold more than 700,000 pieces. This is a record that has not been surpassed by any other Croatian startup.

Mur, who recently announced he was raising a 10 million US dollar investment, is considering one acquisition and plans to go public within three years and sees an opportunity to open up the corporate wellness market with a new product.

''I think that we've become much more aware of our own health and the health of the people we work and are around, and that more and more employers and managers understand the importance of caring for employee health,'' says Mur.

For more, follow our dedicated business section.

June the 13th, 2021 - Croatian enterprises have a lot of untapped potential just waiting to be utilised, and the global electrical equipment market is where the focus needs to be.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, the global electrical equipment market is growing unstoppably, worth a massive 1180 billion US dollars last year and estimated at 1271 billion dollars this year. With an expected annual growth of 7.7%, by 2025 its value could climb to more than 1662 billion dollars. Where does Croatia stand in this regard, exactly?

Although Croatian electrical equipment manufacturers are already significant players in the export market, the analysis of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce's Fit4Globe showed that the total untapped export potential of these Croatian enterprises stood at 432.8 million dollars and that the realisation of this potential would increase the sector's exports by as much as 38.9%.

As Luka Burilovic, President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, explained, this is an industry that accounts for almost 4% of the total volume of Croatian industrial production with revenues of 8.6 billion kuna, of which 53% is realised on international markets.

Currently, 328 companies operate in Croatia in the sector of electrical equipment production and employ over 9,400 workers. Although 90% of business entities in the industry are micro and small Croatian enterprises, large companies dominate the industry's revenues with a share of 55%, or a total revenue of 4.7 billion kuna.

The biggest player in this sector is unsurprisingly the Koncar Group, whose three companies are on the list of the 10 largest companies. It is led by Koncar - Distribution and Special Transformers with revenues in 2019 of 1.04 billion kuna, followed by Koncar - Power Transformers with 739.7 million kuna, then Elektrocentar Petek from Ivanic Grad comes in 3rd place with 680 million kuna, followed by Elka, a large cable manufacturer from Zagreb, which was taken over by Slovenia's Iskra a few weeks ago.

Significant players in this market and whose individual revenue is measured in hundreds of millions are also E.G.O. Elektrokomponente from Zagreb, Siemens Hrvatska, Vertiv Croatia, Varazdin-based Solvis, which sells its solar panels to Google, and Istrian Estradex from Pican, as well as another Koncar company - Generators and motors, which had 220.5 million kuna in revenue back in 2019.

According to Fit4Globe analysis, the product groups with the greatest export potential are: insulated electrical conductors, cables for voltages up to 1000 volts (V), electrical transformers and static converters of more than 10,000 kilovolt amperes (kVA), parts for electrical transformers and static converters, boards , counters, tables and cabinets for electrical control or distribution of electricity, insulated electrical conductors and cables for voltages greater than 1000 V and permanent electrical resistors.

Mladen Puskaric, President of the Association of Electrical and Electronic Industry of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, also Koncar's manager, points out that electricity is an indispensable part of all technological changes, and the production of electrical and electronic equipment is an industrial activity with great potential for growth, development and employment.

A lack of staff

"This is one of the most important activities of the Croatian manufacturing industry, which manages to generate more than half of its revenues in demanding foreign markets," he said, adding that the biggest challenges facing the industry are a lack of professional staff, digital transformation, productivity, an undeveloped sales network on foreign markets and the ubiquitous globalisation and economies of scale,'' said Puskaric.

Ivan Barbaric, Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce for International Affairs, points out that of the total revenue of this sector, 4.5 billion kuna is generated from sales on foreign markets, which is 6.2% of total revenues from sales abroad of the entire manufacturing industry.

Over 50% of the sector's exports in 2019 were transformers, which Croatian enterprises sell to as many as 104 global markets, and cables, which Croatia exports to 93 countries. The leading export markets are Germany with 213 million dollars and 19.1% share, Austria with 139 million and a 12.5% ​​share and Italy with 110 million in value and an almost 10% share.

Other important markets for Croatian enterprises are Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United Arab Emirates, the USA, the Netherlands, Sweden and Serbia, to which Croatia exported electrical equipment worth 33 million dollars back in pre-pandemic 2019.

“The untapped export potential for the 11 selected products on which the Fit4Globe analysis focused in particular exists in 193 countries for a total of 272.5 million dollars. If that potential was fully exploited, Croatian exports would increase by 42.3%. The greatest probability for an increase in exports lies on the markets of Serbia, the USA, Hungary, China and France,'' said Barbaric.

The Chinese market

The Croatian Chamber of Commerce explains that as far as the global market is concerned, the leading exporters of electrical equipment in 2019 were of course China with the amount of 671 billion dollars, Hong Kong with 301 billion and the USA with 173 billion.

The same countries are also the largest importers, again led by China with 497 billion dollars in imports, while the US and Hong Kong swapped places with total imports of 352 billion dollars and 308 billion dollars, respectively.

In the European Union, there are 45,335 companies operating in this sector with a total production value of 303 billion euros, and they employ about 1.5 million people. The Czech Republic leads in the number of companies with 11,190, mostly small and medium-sized entities, followed by Italy with 7,860 and Germany with 5,916. However, German companies are the largest, employing a total of 515,000 workers, followed by Italy with 140,000 and Poland with 118,000.

German companies also generate the largest revenue, almost 110 billion euros, followed by Italy with 39 and Spain with 17.8 billion euros in revenue.

For more on Croatian enterprises, make sure to follow our dedicated business section.

June the 12th, 2021 - Italy might have its famed gondolas, but could a Croatian water bike from the Osijek company Aurea Group (Grupa) be the next big thing along the Croatian coast and in the country's many lakes and rivers?

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, the very first Croatian water bike, made by the Osijek company Aurea Group, has been around since this month. "A Croatian product for the global market" is the slogan of this company, which presented such the first Croatian water bike, Aurea Bike, at Marina Kastela. The water bike will give both local and foreign tourists the opportunity to experience the Croatian Adriatic coast, as well as the many Croatian rivers and lakes in a new, safe, different and at the same time ecological way.

The Osijek company Aurea Group has announced that it is starting with serial production, and although they come from "flat Slavonia" surrounded by rivers and lakes, they will first present their bike on a tour of Croatia in sunny Dalmatia, in the aforementioned marina, where those interested will be able to try it out until June the 13th.

They want to place them throughout Croatia's immediate region and the EU

There are only a few manufacturers of water bikes in the world, and the Osijek company Aurea Group is among them, according to the company's director, Alen Alic. On the world market, this Croatian company stood out owing to its design with unsinkable floats filled with styrofoam, which guarantee additional safety when on the water, and it's also designed for the catamaran type of navigation. This is also an additional impetus towards health tourism and active holidays, which an increasing number of people are focusing on.

"Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic affected tourism and put the season into question last year and this year, so due to the uncertainty, we started presenting the products only at the beginning of June. But there's interest, and in May the first bicycles went down to Omis. The target group so far are renters on the coast. For three months, we prepared parts, orders and payments; everything has to be calculated in millimetres because serial production is done according to specific plans,'' explains Alic, who estimates that they have invested more than half a million kuna in the project so far.

Since back in pre-pandemic 2019, when they started with the water bike idea, they've mostly focused on safety and functionality. Apart from being oriented towards the Croatian coast, they're also interested in their innovation in Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. The company also hired an export manager for the foreign market because inquiries come from outside the region as well, more precisely from Spain, the Netherlands and even from France.

Alic says that they can deliver up to 50 bicycles in a short time, but they don't want to accumulate stock until they see how the market is standing. He also revealed the details of the production itself.

“We can deliver several dozen pieces in a short time. We have all the parts, we just need to plasticise and assemble them, but we're going to wait and see what the reactions are. We procure the propellers in Germany, and we do and produce everything else here in Croatia. For three months, we worked only on parts, laser cutting, welding, aluminum, lathe, machine and manual processing - all to make the product as safe as possible.

Our bike can’t sink, and we tested it on strong waves and among large boats to make sure it was unsinkable and safe for all users, families and children, from tipping over and letting water in. If the user, for example, hits a rock, there is styrofoam inside, which makes the bike unsinkable, and which makes us stand out on the global market.

The bike can pull up to 5 knots, but it is designed as a comfortable and easy ride at a speed of 2-3 knots (about 5 km/h). We focused mostly on getting a product with a large load capacity and a large diameter, the only important thing is to try to distribute the centre of gravity,'' explains Alic.

The Osijek company Aurea Group's water bike has an attractive design, is two metres wide and three metres long, with a load capacity of 450 kg. However, in the realisation process, Alic says, they wouldn't have succeeded if it were not for the company D&D Metal, with which they've been successfully cooperating for years now, and thanks to which they can present this piece of Croatian-made innovation today.

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

June the 9th, 2021 - The Podravka factory (Kalnik) in continental Croatia is set to get an enormous cash injection to modernise its facilities and equipment to make way for the production of yet more products from this much loved Croatian company.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes, the Kalnik Podravka factory located in the continental city of Varazdin is being modernised, after which new food products from this globally recognised company will be created.

The company received a huge 19.37 million euro grant from European Union (EU) funds from the Ministry of Agriculture, because the "Investment in the modernisation of fruit and vegetable processing plants, new technologies and new products from the Kalnik factory" project owned by Podravka passed the tender of the rural development programme for the implementation of measure 4.2. 1.

The works, which come with a hefty price tag of 40.6 million kuna include the purchase of new equipment and the reconstruction of the Podravka warehouse, as well as its subsequent conversion into a fully equipped, modern production space.

The new equipment on the cards are a line for the receiving, processing and aseptic filling of fruit, the purchase of additional vacuum boilers, all to increase production capacity, and the packaging equipment this Podravka factory uses will be changed and modernised.

This investment will also introduce a set of brand new products: jams, marmalades, new types of ajvar, vegetable and fruit spreads, fruit fillings and more. This particular Podravka factory in Kalnik is the location in which sterilised and pasteurised vegetables, mustard, horseradish and marinades are otherwise produced.

These investments in the company's Varazdin factory aim, among other things, to achieve a wider and more diverse range of products, which will increase the price competitiveness of Podravka's much loved items on both the Croatian market and indeed on foreign markets.

For more, make sure to follow our dedicated business section.

June the 4th, 2021 - As we recently wrote, the Croatian-Swedish company Pervanovo, owned by entrepreneur Darko Pervan, has purchased the Croatian company Spacva, with plans for big investments and more.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, on behalf of the Pervanovo company (based in Dubrovnik), owned by sole founder Pervanovo Invest AB from Sweden, Swedish-Croatian entrepreneur Darko Pervan, special attorney at law Mislav Bradvica, lawyer at the Zagreb law firm Bradvica, Mari, Wahl, Cesarec, delivered a notice of the occurrence of the obligation to publish a takeover bid for Spacva to the Zagreb Stock Exchange.

The above notice was submitted on the occurrence of the obligation to publish a bid for the takeover of the company Drvna industrija Spačva d.d., based in Vinkovci, and was entered into the court register of the Commercial Court in Osijek.

"Please publish the submitted notice on the occurrence of the obligation to publish a takeover bid without delay on the website of the Zagreb Stock Exchange d.d., in accordance with Article 4, paragraph 2 of the ZPDD,'' reads the notice.

Entrepreneur Darko Pervan appears extremely happy with the Spacva purchase, and can hardly wait to begin with his business plans. ''We're very satisfied with this latest acquisition,'' added Stjepan Vojinic, a member of the Management Board of Pervanovo, who clearly shares in this feeling.

"We've purchased Spacva, through the acquisition of shares from the Questus fund, Hrvatska postanska banka (HPB) and the Maverick fund, and that's a total of 98.6 percent of Spacva's shares," explained Vojinic, adding that they have to enter the operational business of Spacva in order to then present their ambitious future plans.

The full transaction was completed in which, as has since been found out, the services of consultants weren't even used. In the continuation of the procedure, a public announcement is expected for the remaining 1.4 percent of Spacva shares.

For more, follow our dedicated business section.

June the 3rd, 2021 - Darko Pervan, who is a Swedish-Croatian investor quite well known across the country for his business moves and various acquisitions, will be the one to take over the Croatian Spacva company.

As Novac/Jozo Vrdoljak writes, Quaestus Private Equity sold 75.8 of its shares of the Croatian Spacva to Swedish-Croatian investor Darko Pervan and his Croatian company Pervanovo, and the plans now are quite ambitious indeed.

Until recently, the Polish flooring manufacturer Barlinek was the most serious investor in the Croatian Spacva company. But after that enterprise gave up on the venture, Darko Pervan's Pervanovo came into play. Representatives of the Quaestus Private Equity Kapital II fund were in Sweden about a year or so ago and talked personally to Darko Pervan, who is considered one of the most desirable investors in the wood industry, but Pervan kept things close to his chest all the time.

Now it can be seen that Pervan's move was indeed a brilliant strategic move, and the lion's share of the takeover was done by Stjepan Vojnic.

''The process of finding a strategic investor for the Croatian Spacva company began back in September 2020, at during very challenging times given the epidemiological situation.

During the process, talks were held with the largest and most reputable European wood industries and several investment funds. The entire wood industry has operated very successfully since last summer and with surprisingly good results given the situation, but uncertainty and limitations in normal business and travel have made it much more difficult to implement the process that was led entirely by Quaestus.

In the second step of the process, interested investors conducted an in-depth survey of the Croatian Spacva company. Corporate governance and transparent operations have been the focus of Quaestus and Spacva since the very first day of the takeover, and an in-depth look was only a formal confirmation of many years of good practice. The transaction was finalised during the month of May and a transition period will now follow until the assembly is held.

We're pleased with the outcome because satisfactory conditions have been achieved for our investors, but the long-term future of Spacva has also been ensured. As such, both goals of the funds for economic cooperation have been met. The Croatian Spacva company is in an extremely good financial situation with fully organised business processes, and Darko Pervan and the companies in the Bjelin Group have all the necessary resources, knowledge and vision to turn Spacva from a mere Croatian leader to a European leader in the wood industry,'' said Mario Popic from Quaestus Private Equity.

Quaestus otherwise initially took over Spacva back in 2013, after it had fallen into a severe crisis.

An investment of 200 million euros

Stjepan Vojnic, the director of the companies Pervanovo and Bjelin, recently revealed that in this cycle, the companies owned by Darko Pervan headquartered here in Croatia intend to invest 200 million euros. Bjelin, Pervan's second company operating in Croatia, manages plants for the production of floor coverings in Bjelovar and Ogulin, and he's been the owner of the company Furnir from Otok for over two years now.

In addition to the strength of the brand and its implied tradition, the huge value of the company and its contract with Croatian Forests (Hrvatske sume) is also of significance. A quota of 45,000 cubic metres of oak per year for a period of one decade has been agreed.

The Croatian Spacva company's geostrategic position is also valuable due to the fact that the area of ​​Vinkovci still has a sufficient number of interested workers trained to work in the wood industry in this country. During the first quarter of 2021, Spacva recorded 65 million kuna in revenue and 3.4 million kuna in profit, and its inventories were worth a massive 81 million kuna as of March the 31st.

For more, follow our business section.