In the last few days leading up to the official confirmation about the purchase money being paid – which has been announced today – the opposition to the sale had become more vocal, with fears about Agrokor’s takeover of Mercator having negative consequences for the employees and Slovenian economy coming to the forefront.

Bratušek: Sale started by Janša’s government
The outgoing prime minister in resignation and president of the ZaAB party, Alenka Bratušek, stressed that Mercator “was sold by Janez Janša’s government, and it was done the way it was done”. Sale proceedings led by the banks didn’t start during her term, she pointed out, but during the term of Janša’s government. “I did all I could. I demanded liabilities on keeping jobs to be included in the contract. If the business deal is carried out, Economy Minister Metod Dragonja will call the new owners next week and demand the same from them,” she announced.

In an short statement the outgoing Economy Minister Metod Dragonja emphasized that the current government is not responsible for the sale, since Mercator was sold by a consortium of sellers. He hasn’t seen the contract of sale, he told, refusing to make further comments about the sale.

Semolič: Project of draining
“What shouldn’t have happened, happened,” said Dušan Semolič, president of the Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (ZSSS). He warned that the purchase is a project of draining aimed at “saving Agrokor at the expense of Mercator”. “The real price of the purchase will be paid by workers of Mercator and the agro-processing industry, since the owner has absolute power,” he warned. According to Ladi Rožič, the secretary of the commerce workers’ trade union, the contract of sale does not include any obligations about not dismissing the workers. The company employs 11,500 workers in Slovenia, whereas within the entire chain, operating throughout the region of former Yugoslavia, 22,000 jobs are at stake.

Farmers’ Union “against the sale with might and main”
The Farmers’ Union expressed fears that the sale will have catastrophic consequences for Slovenian farmers and that Agrokor will remove their products from the shelves. “We’ve opposed the sale with might and main, but – as we can see – without any success,” says the union’s president Anton Medved.

Kuhar: Negative changes
We can expect substantial changes relatively fast, believes Aleš Kuhar, an economist specialized in agriculture. The changes will be “fairly” negative for the national economy, he says, since Agrokor will attempt to consolidate Mercator and reimburse the money spent on the takeover. “It’s very clear that the purchase is financed through a model that does not require any fresh capital, since it’s already planned that the acquiring company will drain the target company through financing the takeover with processes in the latter,” adds Kuhar.

A. S., S. B. L., A. Č., translated by K. Z.