Takeover bid for Merkur

A consortium intends to buy the 21.5 per cent of shares in the Slovenian Merkur Group that are not yet in its possession. The consortium comprises Merfin, the company founded by 65 Merkur managers, together with Koper Bank, the Sava holding company, Interfin investment company and the Croatian company, Euro-Vento. The Merkur Group's DIY retail division achieved net sales of € 353 mio in 2006. The total number of DIY stores came to 62 at the end of June 2007 (52 in Slovenia, 8 in Croatia and 2 in Serbia). The group's turnover on the wholesale side came to € 490 mio last year.