NEWS
Clarification by the Office of the Prime Minister regarding wrongly presented facts and interpretations concerning the meeting with Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek
In view of the several inaccuracies, insinuations and wrong conclusions presented in the Televizija Slovenija's show Pogledi Slovenije yesterday evening, Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek is providing the public with the factual and accurate presentation of her meeting with the Chairman of the Board of Mercator, Toni Balažič, and the Chairman of the Board of Pivovarna Laško, Dušan Zorko.
In the reply to the written question of the editor of the show regarding the meeting, we have clearly confirmed that the meeting took place and Ms Bratušek certainly did not conceal it. It is understandable that the Prime Minister does not immediately inform the public about every meeting she holds in the course of her work. We have clearly stated in our reply that the state does no longer own Mercator and is not selling it itself. Consequently, the particular elements of the transaction concerning, for example, the buyers, price and decisions of sellers, were not discussed at the meeting. The parties at the meeting discussed problems that companies Mercator and Pivovarna Laško are experiencing owing to their large debts, their relations with suppliers and potential impacts of various scenarios of companies' development on their business, particularly with regard to the large number of employees and the fate of associated companies. Ms Bratušek met both Chairmen of the Boards together because the companies are inextricably linked owing to the untransparent sale of Mercator in 2005. The fall of one company could bring about the fall of the other. The discussion also touched upon the rise of VAT and Ms Bratušek called on her discussion partners not to incorporate the VAT rise in the final prices on 1 July 2013.
Even though all facts have been explained, the host of the show implied several times throughout the show that the Prime Minister had withheld the information on the meeting and that she made some kind of an agreement or even gave her consent to the sale of Mercator. We would like to point out that Ms Bratušek strictly adheres to the corporate governance rules and has never interfered with the actual selling procedure. However, it is her duty to keep herself informed about such an important issue as is the development of the largest Slovenian merchant and consequently the fate of Pivovarna Laško and for this reason she has met and will meet with the management of large companies whenever necessary and if this is in the interest of the state, the companies and their employees.
With regard to the selling of Slovenian companies, Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek supports the following view, which she also repeated at the meeting: the sale of any company must be conducted in accordance with regulations and in a transparent manner, with the importance attached to the highest price offered and the introduction of a strategic partner. Ms Bratušek advocates that a high degree of caution be exercised in selling procedures. She also supports the application of highly professional criteria to guarantee that the new owners will facilitate the development and achieve the stability of companies. At the meeting, Ms Bratušek expressed her expectations that Slovenian suppliers and employees of both companies will be protected to the greatest extent possible. The Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek reiterates that the state no longer owns Mercator and is not the one selling it. Mercator is being sold by independent economic entities and banks and the great difficulties they are facing today are due to the untransparent sale of state-owned equity holdings in 2005.