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Sber sells stake in Fortenova Group to large investor from UAE

The buyer was a major investor from the UAE Saif Alketbi

MOSCOW, November 3. /TASS/. Sber has sold its stake in Croatia’s Fortenova Group to a large investor from the United Arab Emirates, the press service of the Russian top lender said in a statement.

"Sber is announcing the sale of its 43% stake in Fortenova Group to Saif Alketbi, an investor from the UAE who has significant investments in real estate, technology, tech, and holds significant investments through various private equity deals," the statement reads.

Fortenova Group is Croatia’s top food manufacturer and retailer headquartered in Zagreb.

Sberbank Group gained control of 40% of assets of Fortenova Group Topco, a subsidiary of Fortenova Group, which manages entities of Croatia’s largest private company on food production and retail trade Agrokor, in 2019. Last spring Sberbank increased its share in the Croatian Fortenova operating in agriculture, food and retail sectors to 43% through taking 4% in the company for 18.5% of shares in the largest Slovenian retailer Mercator.

In April 2017 the government of Croatia introduced state management in Fortenova Group due to debts and started a restructuring procedure. Sberbank attempted to recover 1.13 bln euro debt from it.

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