ZAGREB, November 8, 2018 - The Restructuring and Sale Centre (CERP) steering board has accepted the binding offer of the Zagreb-based PND Strategija company for the purchase of a 68.94% stake in the Dubrovnik-based Hotels Maestral company at the price of 153.5 million kuna, which is 26.7 million more than the asking price, according to a press release issued on the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) on Thursday.

The short press release reads that the CERP steering board made this decision two days ago, on 6 November.

The CERP received three binding offers, and apart from PND Strategija, also bidding for Hoteli Maestral were the Czech companies J&T IB Capital Markets and Eco Investment, which offered 145.9 million kuna and 141.07 million kuna respectively.

In August, CERP issued a public call for binding offers for the purchase of 355,520 shares (68.94 percent) in Hoteli Maestral at a starting price of 126.8 million kuna. It said then that the main factor in selecting the most favourable offer would be the value of the bid.

Hoteli Maestral is Croatia's last large hotel company majority-owned by the state. Last year, it operated at a profit for the fifth year in a row, generating a net profit of 4.1 million kuna, 7% up from 2016.

The company includes five hotels – Uvala, Splendid, Komodor, Vis and Adriatic – as well as the Adriatic Rooms pavilion, with 473 rooms and 933 beds on aggregate.

In the first nine months of this year, Hoteli Maestral's profit was 11.58 million kuna, 3% down from the corresponding period of last year.

Ministry says tender for sale of Maestral hotel company equal for all bidders

Responding to media reports that Czech Ambassador Vladimir Zavazal wrote to state institutions to warn that Croatian bidders were being favoured, the State Assets Ministry said recently that the tender for the state's stake in the Hoteli Maestral company was equal for all bidders.

A few weeks ago the ministry was asked by Hina if it had received Zavazal's letter in which he expressed suspicion that Czech investors would be short-changed in relation to Croatian companies and said that one Croatian bidder had submitted incomplete documentation.

According to the media, Zavazal says in the letter that when the offers were opened, one Czech bidder found that PND Strategija failed to submit financial statements for 2016 and 2017 but the State Assets Ministry declared its offer complete and valid.

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ZAGREB, November 5, 2018 - The State Assets Ministry said on Monday that a tender for the state's stake in the Hoteli Maestral company was equal for all bidders, responding to media reports that Czech Ambassador Vladimir Zavazal has written to state institutions to warn that Croatian bidders are being favoured.

The ministry was asked by Hina if it had received Zavazal's letter in which he suspects that Czech investors will be short-changed in relation to Croatian companies and says that one Croatian bidder has submitted incomplete documentation.

Some media have reported that Zavazal has written to the ministry and the Restructuring and Sales Centre (CERP), expressing his fear that the Czech investors which have submitted binding offers for shares in the Dubrovnik-based hotel company are subordinate to the Croatian bidder.

Three binding offers have been submitted for a 68.94% stake in the company, two by Czech bidders, J&T IB Capital Markets and ECO Investments, and one by Croatia's PND Strategija, a company owned by Danko Ćorić.

According to the media, Zavazal says in the letter that when the offers were opened, one Czech bidder found that PND Strategija failed to submit financial statements for 2016 and 2017, yet the State Assets Ministry declared its offer complete and valid.

Zavazal recalls that only one offer, by J&T IB Capital Markets, was submitted for Hoteli Maestral in a previous privatisation tender which was eventually cancelled for formal reasons.

The new tender was advertised in August. The asking price for the 68.94% stake was 126.8 million kuna. On October 24, CERP said three offers had been submitted - 145.9 million kuna by J&T IB Capital Markets, 141.07 million kuna by ECO Investments, and 153.5 million kuna by PND Strategija.

Hoteli Maestral is the last major hotel company in which the state is the majority owner. Last year, it netted 4.1 million kuna in profits, up 7% from 2016. Over the past ten years, the state has not been able to find a buyer.

For more on Croatian tourism, click here.

ZAGREB, August 23, 2018 - The Centre for Restructuring and Sales (CERP) on Thursday advertised a public call for binding offers for the purchase of shares in the Hoteli Maestral chain as well as advertising another public call for binding bids for the purchase of business shares in the Club Adriatic tourism company.

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