The government and the pension funds, the current owners of Petrokemija, will inject fresh capital and restructure this artificial fertiliser manufacturer to rescue it at this critical time, Economy Minister Ivan Vrdoljak said at a government session on Thursday.
Petrokemija's management and supervisory boards adopted a restructuring programme earlier this week.
The government will do, together with the pension funds, the job we expected from the strategic partner, Vrdoljak said, recalling that the gas price, which was being negotiated, was a big problem for Petrokemija.
The government adopted a report by a commission for the selection of a strategic partner for Petrokemija and dissolved the commission.
No strategic partner was found because no binding offer meeting the terms arrived in time, the minister said.
The government set up the commission on 14 November 2013 to select a strategic partner, with the state retaining a stake of at least 25 per cent plus one share in Petrokemija.
Four non-binding offers were submitted, from Poland's Azoty, Austria's Bolearis, the Czech Agrfert and Hungary's Nitrogenmuvek. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development retained the right, as a financial partner, to join the selected partner.
Azoty's offer was much worse than the others, Nitrogenmuvek's terms did not meet those of the government and the commission, while Bolearis and Agrfert dropped out, said Vrdoljak.
(Hina)
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