OT Logistics to take over operational and financial control of Croatian port

September 19, 2017: After reaching an agreement with Luka Rijeka and other shareholders, the Polish company, OT Logistics will be managing the operational and financial control of the Croatian port. OT Logistics has increased its stake in Luka Rijeka to 32.56 percent and post that a cooperation agreement was executed with Croatian pension funds Allianz ZB doo and ERSTE doo. In aggregate, the shareholders signed the contract control of 56.56 percent of Luka Rijeka’s shares.

The cooperation agreement between shareholders has been signed for a period of 7 years and sets out the conditions for participation in managing the Luka Rijeka dd as well as in conducting a tender offer for Luka Rijeka shares. The tender offer will be announced by OT Logistics SA Additionally; the parties agreed for a lock-up on the shares for a period of 1 year and 90 days since the end of the tender offer.

The Croatian pension funds Allianz ZB doo and ERSTE doo control 15.15 percent and 8.85 percent of Luka Rijeka’s shares, respectively. Together with OT Logistics, shareholders signing the agreement control 56.56 percent of the Croatian company’s equity.

“Having increased our stake in Luka Rijeka and signed a partnership agreement with other shareholders, we are gaining real influence over the port’s operating activities. Rijeka is a crucial spot on Europe’s transport map. We believe that it can become a gateway for goods from northern Europe to pass through on their way to Africa, the Middle East and further to the Persian Gulf. We are sticking to our objective of increasing our stake in the Croatian company to 50 percent + one share,” said Zbigniew Nowik, CEO of OT Logistics.

On 7 September, OT Logistics acquired 11.75 percent of shares in Luka Rijeka dd through a block transaction executed on the Zagreb Stock Exchange. The shares were sold by Croatia’s privatisation agency. With the acquisition of this additional block of shares, OT Logistics Group has a 32.56 percent stake in the Croatian port operator. In July 2015, OT Logistics purchased a 20.81 percent stake in Luka Rijeka, signalling that it would be interested in increasing its ownership of the port operator.

Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego supported financing for the transaction to increase OT Logistics' stake in Luka Rijeka. The Company executed a PLN 125 million credit agreement with the bank. The first tranche of the credit facility amounting to PLN 46.6 million is intended for the purchase of this block of the Croatian company’s shares. Repayment of the credit facility will finish by the end of 2023.