Belgrade, Feb 19, 2003 - Croatian food company Agrokor acquired a 55.49 percent stake in Belgrade-based ice cream and frozen food producer Frikom for $11 million.
Agrokor paid $11 million for the stake and pledged to invest $17.5 million in the company next year, plus a further $500,000 in the local self-government. The Croatian company also agreed to provide one-off payments of $500 to all 836 Frikom workers and promised not to cut jobs for five years.
The sell-off agreement was signed by Agrokor chairman Ivica Todoric, Frikom director Dusan Pavlovic and Privatisation Agency head Mirko Cvetkovic.
The Croatian company placed the best offer in the Frikom tender launched on Sept 16, 2002.
Agrokor is Croatia's largest privately-owned company and one of its best performers with an annual turnover of around $1 billion. The company manages Zagreb-based ice cream and frozen fruit producer Ledo, which has a 74 percent share of the local market, as well as Croatia's top food retailer Konzum.
