April 25, 2023 - Representatives of the state, the largest creditor of the bankrupt Uljanik Shipyard, decided that Uljanik Shipyard 1856 would be offered at a public auction after a meeting of creditors was held at the Commercial Court in Pazin.

As Index writes, this means that the proposal of bankruptcy administrator Loris Rak was accepted - to abandon the model of sale through a public tender.

The auction is expected in the first half of May when a 54.77 percent stake in Uljanik Shipyard 1856 will be offered at a price that will be higher than that offered by the Czech group CE Industries at the beginning of the year, EUR 20.57 million.

The bankruptcy administrator's proposal

The starting price of Uljanik is 20.73 million euros, which is 75 percent of the estimated value, and the initial proposal of the starting price was increased by the intervention of the representative of the state.

Bankruptcy administrator Loris Rak proposed that 54.77 percent of shares in Uljanik Shipyard be auctioned at an initial price of 20.57 million euros, i.e., 155 million kuna, which was offered by the Czech group CE Industries at the beginning of the year.

"We accepted the bankruptcy administrator's proposal to do a public auction. The state agreed with the proposal but requested a change in determining the initial price below which it could not be sold.

We reasoned that it would be 75 percent of the estimated value, so the initial amount of EUR 20.7 million or HRK 156.2 million was determined," said Deputy County State Attorney Nevenka Kovčalija.

"It's hard to do business when you belong to no one"

She added that the state proposed, and the bankruptcy administrator accepted, that interested business entities be obliged to attach a statement to the documentation that they will maintain the shipbuilding activity.

When asked why the price was changed after the potential buyer proposed EUR 20.5 million and the state EUR 20.7 million, Kovčalija pointed out that she cannot prejudge the buyer and who will apply for the auction and that the state determined that it should be 75 percent of the estimated value, as is usually done in bankruptcy proceedings if the national financial agency manages the sale.

The director of Uljanik Shipyard 1856, Samir Hadžić, stated that more than five months were wasted unnecessarily and that this model should have been used from the beginning.

"It is difficult to do business when you belong to no one, when you have been on sale for a long time, when all existing or future business partners are waiting to see who will be the new owner. We can't wait for this to be completed and to finally talk business," said Hadžić.

"It would be silly to play with a potential customer and add millions"

Asserting that after this decision, "there is light at the end of the tunnel," the head of the Pula office of the Independent Workers Union of Croatia, Boris Cerovac, stated that it would be silly to play with a potential buyer and add, as he said, "little millions".

"The state has obviously played its game and raised the price by HRK 1 million. However, at this moment, it is important to go to the auction in the first half of May and that everything goes well for the benefit of the workers, the shipyard, and the city," said Cerovac.

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