ZAGREB, 23 May, 2021 - The Slovenian Iskra company is taking over the Croatian Elka company, and the transaction will be carried out upon fulfillment of conditions, including approval of regulators for the protection of market competition in the two countries, the two companies said on Sunday.

According to a joint press release, Iskra director and majority owner Dušan Šešok and Elka -Cotra group owner Miljenko Hacek on Saturday signed an agreement on the acquisition of the 100% stake in Elka, the largest producer of electric cables in this part of Europe.

In the press release, Šešok said that Iskra was doing extremely well, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

"Last year, we ended with a record €130 million in consolidated revenues, and this year we expect further growth of over 20%," Šešok said, noting that this is the result of European customers turning to European manufacturers when it comes to components, as well as system solutions for energy, telecommunications, railways, and automation in industry.

"Iskra continuously invests in research and development of new products to implement new technologies and innovative solutions, which we will certainly apply, as the new owners, in the further development of the Elka company which we are taking over," Šešok said, adding that both companies are a symbol of reliability and quality.

For the Iskra Group, the acquisition of Elka is the second significant investment in Croatia since 2019, when it acquired the Repair Shipyard Šibenik, the press release reads.

Elka owner Miljenko Hacek said that in the past two years Elka had undergone thorough financial and operational restructuring and functional reorganisation and implemented new management, which were basic preconditions for achieving very good business results and attracting potential investors interested in strategic partnership.

The acquisition is a mutually beneficial cooperation between Croatia and Slovenia, and it is a precondition for the progress of both companies and the economic development of both countries, Hacek said.

Elka was founded in Zagreb in 1927, and it produces power lines and different types of cables, including telecommunication and fiber optic cables, halogen-free and flame retardant marine cables, cables for the petrochemical industry and others.

The Iskra Group this years marks its 75th anniversary, and it has become the largest Slovenian company dealing with process automation, electrical distribution system, water purifiers, power line communication, rail and road transport automation and software solutions in the field of energy and logistics. The Iskra Group is owned by the Šešok family, it employs more than 1,300 workers, and its share capital is slightly over €28 million, the press release said.

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May the 15th, 2021 - Slovenia's Iskra wants to take over a very well known Zagreb-based company and one of the largest Croatian exporters as the business climate begins gaining some sense of semi-normality back again.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, the business climate is gradually recovering, we have learned to live with the coronavirus and the vaccine is here, and for Iskra as well as for many other Slovenian companies, a new wave of development can start. That naturally means greater investments in automation, robotics and new innovative technologies.

This was stated by Iskra's Dusan Sesok, whose family-owned company has come back into focus again here in Croatia as well. The last time it was on Croatia's business radar was on the occasion of them taking over the shipyard in Sibenik from the former owner there - today they're successfully developing a business called Iskra shipyard. Now, the media is following the Slovenian publication related to the takeover of Zagreb's Elka, otherwise the largest regional cable company and one of the largest Croatian exporters.

Following Iskra's information regarding the process around this company, one of the biggest Croatian exporters, which they informed the Slovenian regulator about, it has been found out that the transaction hasn't been completed. The process is still ongoing, according to the director of Iskra.

A recently held meeting was attended by representatives of the ownership ''staff'' of both companies; Matija Sesok, one of the juniors who runs Iskra's operations, as well as a member of the Croatian Elka company, Miljenko Hacek. Apparently, this was an all-day meeting.

Hacek said that with more than half a billion kuna in revenue, Elka is a recovered company, it is stable. It has operated positively for the last two years and even achieved growth last year despite the coronavirus pandemic. They have promising plans for this year, and growth is expected to continue.

Matija Sesok, referring to the same topic, said that Elka's business last year and this year was such that it had become very interesting for Iskra.

Iskra's director, economist Dusan Sesok, who was the Minister of Economy and Finance in two Slovenian Governments, pointed out that his domain included taking over other companies, as well as environmental projects.

He confirmed that Iskra wants to enter a new field of activity - in the field of energy and telecommunications cable production, but didn't want to comment on the alleged potential takeover of one of the largest Croatian exporters - Elka.

''We're still in a sensitive phase,'' he said, and according to him, the first statements on this topic can be expected in about ten days at the earliest. Otherwise, the Slovenian Iskra had a record 130 million euros last year.

Good political relations

This, he says, will be a long-term trend, as after production was transferred to Asia, it is now returning home to Europe as everyone tends to buy in short supply chains from European producers. Iskra employs a total of 1,300 workers, of which 170 are in the Dalmatian city of Sibenik, where they also have about 100 subcontractors.

"Political relations between Croatia and Slovenia are good again after a number of years of tension, which is a good basis for greater connections between our companies," concluded Iskra's Sesok.

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