Croatia’s Fortenova Group has accepted Bosqar Invest’s buyout offer for local meat producer Pik Vrbovec.
In a statement on 2 April, the Croatian investment company said it submitted a binding proposal to acquire 100% of Pik Vrbovec.
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The two sides will now negotiate the final transaction terms which will see Fortenova dispose of another agriculture asset.
Fabris Peruško, the member of the management board and CEO of Fortenova Group, the current owner of Pik Vrbovec, said: “By exiting agriculture, the Fortenova group already began a strategic turnaround in its business with a focus on activities and services that are not directly related to primary production and processing. Since Pik is largely based on agricultural production, it was natural for us to find another owner for the company.”
Fortenova, the successor to the Agrokor conglomerate, has pursued divestitures since embarking on a new business strategy in 2019. These include the sales of the Zvijezda sauces and oils business to Podravka-owned Žito in November and Serbian edible oils producer Dijamant to the MK Group in January.
In July, Fortenova reported it had cut gross debt by more than a third to €650m ($751.1m) from as much as €2bn.
The deal, once completed, would see Bosqar take over Croatia’s largest meat and processed-meat producer through its Future Food division.
The division already includes Slovenian agri-food group Panvita as well as bakery group Mlinar, where Bosqar acquired a 67% indirect ownership in July.
Pik Vrbovec operates a vertically integrated model that includes ownership of pig and cattle farms and primary production in Belje.
The structure makes it “highly complementary” to Panvita’s own integrated model, noted Bosqar.
Pik Vrbovec has a workforce of approximately 1,500 and generates €337m in revenue. It exports to about 20 countries.
Darko Horvat, the president of the management board at Bosqar, called the move a “landmark step” in its plan to build a “strong” regional platform in the agri-food and meat-processing industry.
Horvat said: “Most recently, escalating tensions in the Middle East have underscored how crucial food security is and will remain for the foreseeable future. Against this backdrop, Bosqar sees its continued investments in Future Food as a strategic contribution to strengthening supply resilience in Croatia and across the region.”
Subject to signing a share purchase agreement and obtaining regulatory approvals and financing, the combined Future Food platform would have pro-forma revenues of around €640m and about 4,800 employees based on 2024 figures.
On a pro-forma basis after the deal, the division is expected to exceed €1bn in annual revenue and €100m in EBITDA in 2026.
The enlarged platform would feature an integrated agricultural base with around 86,000 tonnes of annual meat, fruit, vegetable and bakery output, as well as capacity for 120,000 pigs and 4.5 million broiler chickens.
The deal will be financed through a secondary public offering (SPO).
