Post by radovic on Oct 30, 2007 13:52:14 GMT -5
Former biggest selling chain sold for 360 million Euros
The Greeks first buyers of ‘Beograd’ stores
Author: S. Vukoviæ | 30.10.2007 - 06:00
The public buyer of ‘Beograd’ stores is ‘Verano Motors’ of Radomir Zivanic. With a bidding price of 360 million Euros, this Belgrade businessman defeated severe competition that included Miroslav Miskovic, Filip Zepter, Petar Matic, Miodrag Kostic, Russian ‘Metropol’ and according to some, Milan Beko and even Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
Zivanic promised to tell at today’s press conference how he shall provide so many millions of Euros. Zivanic replied nothing to ‘Blic’ question whether behind his purchase there was a Greek investment fund ‘Marfin’. However, the Greeks gave officially that confirmation yesterday evening. They said to be the owner of 66.67 per cent of ‘Beograd’ store.
‘Marfin Investment Group’ is within ‘Marfin Popular Bank’ that was founded by merging of three banks including ‘Laiki Bank’ known in our country for money transfers from Serbia during Milosevic’s regime.
‘That is a sad fact but that happened before we purchased the bank. Now there are new people working in the bank and they took no part in those transfers. We are not dealing with laundering of Serbian money’, Serafim Konstantinidis, media director of ‘Marfin Investment Group’ said for ‘Blic’.
The yesterday’s atmosphere during auction at ‘Hyatt’ indicated that the large sum of money was in the game. The competing started with 140 million Euros. When the offered price reached 260 millions, only Zivanic and a company called ‘Edelway’ continued competing. Some claim that the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich who has been living in London since Putin’s coming in power, was behind the company. Others claim that it was Milan Beko together with some other Russian businessmen.
The real problem of the journalists was to try to find out who of the local businessmen is behind which company, i.e. what the name of our foreigners is.
So it was concluded that ‘Delta’ was competing via ‘Balkans Real Estate’ and that a consortium ‘Aida asse’ and ‘Home Art and Sales’ are actually hiding Miodrag Kostic and Filip Zepter. The Russian financial corporation ‘Metropol’ (purchased ‘Putnik’ six months ago) was behind the name of ‘Seatpag Invest’… and that ‘Pluto Capital’ has its branch office in Herceg Novi, Montenegro. There were rumors that Stanko Subotic was also hiding behind some of these nine companies.
At the end, the sale of ‘Beograd’ stores finished with a considerably higher price than expected. It exceeded the starting price by 220 million Euros.
Disputable sale
Mladen Komadinic, one of the successors of the nationalized building in 5, Knez Mihailova Street that has been illegally registered on ‘Beograd Stores’ as well as the building in 43-45, Knez Mihailova Street, says that the successors shall not give up requesting return of their property. They dispute this sale.
Who the mysterious Greeks are
‘Marfin’ investment fund is a part of ‘Marfin Popular Bank’. Last year the fund made a profit of 5.2 billion Euros and that was the largest profit in Europe in that year. In July this year the fund announced plans to invest 15 billion Euros in deals in the Southeast Europe, mainly in Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece.
The chief man behind the whole project is a Greek businessman Andreas Vgenopoulos described by the west media as an individual that worked pretty aggressively on strengthening of the Greek banking sector that was in crisis at some time in the past. Although still not ready to reveal all details, the fund claims that the competing for ‘Beograd’ stores was mainly due to their interest in real estate.
M. Ivanoviæ
The biggest ‘domestic’ buyer
With the price of 360 million Euros, ‘Beograd’ stores occupied the 5th position of the largest until so far made sale of enterprises and banks in Serbia. The first is ‘Mobi 063’ (1.51 billion Dollars), the second ‘Hemofarm’ (about 500 million Euros) and the third DIN Nis (about 470 million Euros). Until so far ‘Delta Bank’ sale to Italian ‘Intesa’ (360 million Euros) occupied the fifth position.
If the list of the biggest domestic buyers would be made, Zivanic is convincingly occupying the first position.
The Greeks first buyers of ‘Beograd’ stores
Author: S. Vukoviæ | 30.10.2007 - 06:00
The public buyer of ‘Beograd’ stores is ‘Verano Motors’ of Radomir Zivanic. With a bidding price of 360 million Euros, this Belgrade businessman defeated severe competition that included Miroslav Miskovic, Filip Zepter, Petar Matic, Miodrag Kostic, Russian ‘Metropol’ and according to some, Milan Beko and even Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
Zivanic promised to tell at today’s press conference how he shall provide so many millions of Euros. Zivanic replied nothing to ‘Blic’ question whether behind his purchase there was a Greek investment fund ‘Marfin’. However, the Greeks gave officially that confirmation yesterday evening. They said to be the owner of 66.67 per cent of ‘Beograd’ store.
‘Marfin Investment Group’ is within ‘Marfin Popular Bank’ that was founded by merging of three banks including ‘Laiki Bank’ known in our country for money transfers from Serbia during Milosevic’s regime.
‘That is a sad fact but that happened before we purchased the bank. Now there are new people working in the bank and they took no part in those transfers. We are not dealing with laundering of Serbian money’, Serafim Konstantinidis, media director of ‘Marfin Investment Group’ said for ‘Blic’.
The yesterday’s atmosphere during auction at ‘Hyatt’ indicated that the large sum of money was in the game. The competing started with 140 million Euros. When the offered price reached 260 millions, only Zivanic and a company called ‘Edelway’ continued competing. Some claim that the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich who has been living in London since Putin’s coming in power, was behind the company. Others claim that it was Milan Beko together with some other Russian businessmen.
The real problem of the journalists was to try to find out who of the local businessmen is behind which company, i.e. what the name of our foreigners is.
So it was concluded that ‘Delta’ was competing via ‘Balkans Real Estate’ and that a consortium ‘Aida asse’ and ‘Home Art and Sales’ are actually hiding Miodrag Kostic and Filip Zepter. The Russian financial corporation ‘Metropol’ (purchased ‘Putnik’ six months ago) was behind the name of ‘Seatpag Invest’… and that ‘Pluto Capital’ has its branch office in Herceg Novi, Montenegro. There were rumors that Stanko Subotic was also hiding behind some of these nine companies.
At the end, the sale of ‘Beograd’ stores finished with a considerably higher price than expected. It exceeded the starting price by 220 million Euros.
Disputable sale
Mladen Komadinic, one of the successors of the nationalized building in 5, Knez Mihailova Street that has been illegally registered on ‘Beograd Stores’ as well as the building in 43-45, Knez Mihailova Street, says that the successors shall not give up requesting return of their property. They dispute this sale.
Who the mysterious Greeks are
‘Marfin’ investment fund is a part of ‘Marfin Popular Bank’. Last year the fund made a profit of 5.2 billion Euros and that was the largest profit in Europe in that year. In July this year the fund announced plans to invest 15 billion Euros in deals in the Southeast Europe, mainly in Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece.
The chief man behind the whole project is a Greek businessman Andreas Vgenopoulos described by the west media as an individual that worked pretty aggressively on strengthening of the Greek banking sector that was in crisis at some time in the past. Although still not ready to reveal all details, the fund claims that the competing for ‘Beograd’ stores was mainly due to their interest in real estate.
M. Ivanoviæ
The biggest ‘domestic’ buyer
With the price of 360 million Euros, ‘Beograd’ stores occupied the 5th position of the largest until so far made sale of enterprises and banks in Serbia. The first is ‘Mobi 063’ (1.51 billion Dollars), the second ‘Hemofarm’ (about 500 million Euros) and the third DIN Nis (about 470 million Euros). Until so far ‘Delta Bank’ sale to Italian ‘Intesa’ (360 million Euros) occupied the fifth position.
If the list of the biggest domestic buyers would be made, Zivanic is convincingly occupying the first position.