This is the first acquisition of Agrofert, which falls into the trust funds of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO), on the Croatian market. According to the server, this is also the first significant foreign expansion of Agrofert since Babiš’s entry into government.
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The transaction represents Agrofert’s direct entry into the Croatian agricultural market and is also Babiš’s first capital investment in Croatia, the Croatian daily Jutarnji list wrote today. “Extending our activities to other countries in Southeast Europe has been an important part of our development strategy for some time. The capital entry into Agronom is a great start to our direct presence in Croatia, “said Libor Němeček, a daily quoted by Agrofert’s board member.
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According to the newspaper, the transaction must be approved by the Antimonopoly Office in Croatia and some other countries. A spokesman for Agrofert, Karel Hanzelka, confirmed it to Hospodářské noviny (HN). According to him, Agronom is one of the largest companies operating in Croatian agriculture, operates its own primary production, operates in agricultural supply and purchasing, and trades in agricultural products, commodities and technology. “The parties have agreed not to disclose further details of the transaction at this time,” the spokesman added.
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According to the IHNED.cz server, the store expects Aračič to remain at the helm of Agronom for another five years. The company has been selling agricultural products and machinery since 1996. Last year, it had a turnover of approximately 800 million kuna (about 2.7 billion crowns), Aračić and the Czech investor plan to get a turnover of over one billion kuna.
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According to sales, Agrofert is significantly larger than Agronom. The Czech holding company has not yet published the results for 2020; in 2019, consolidated revenues amounted to CZK 162 billion and consolidated profits amounted to almost CZK 4.8 billion. In the past, Agrofert was interested in the semi-state Croatian fertilizer producer Petrokemija.
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