A ceremony marking the acquisition of the Vupik agribusiness, headquartered in Vukovar, by the private Agrokor concern was held in that eastern city on Friday, with Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor and Agrokor President Ivica Todoric attending.
Todoric said that Vupik's total earnings in 2009 were estimated at HRK 150million, and Agrokor was planning to see to it that Vupik's total earnings beabout HRK 1 billion in three years' time.
Vupik was merged officially with Agrokor on Wednesday, and salaries werepaid to its employees today, with the company's accounts being unblocked,Todoric said.
He pledged that Agrokor would fulfill its commitments stemming from theacquisition agreement and that it would invest some HRK 500 million into theVukovar company.
At the end of 2009, Agrokor acquired 87.98 per cent of Vupik's shares afterthe Croatian Privatisation Fund (HFP) in September 2009 published an invitationfor bids for the purchase of that stock in the agribusiness at the initialprice of one kuna. The private concern undertook to pay HRK 30 million for thatstock, and to service 20 per cent of Vupik's due obligations to the statecreditors in the amount of HRK 50-60 million.
Agrokor committed to retaining 847 workers on Vupik's payroll in the nextthree years and to providing them with 25 per cent plus one share of thecompany. Agrokor also pledged investments of HRK 430 million into Vupik in thenext five years.
Trade unionists also okayed the agreement which was endorsed by thegovernment in mid-November 2009.
Speaking at Friday's ceremony in Vukovar, Kosor said Croatia's economy wouldmake small but certainly positive progress by the end of this year.
