Ljubljana, Jan. 7 - Slovenia's largest food retailer Mercator said on Monday it is taking over the retail units of Bosnia's Omega.
"The agreement on strategic partnership was signed at the end of 2007 ... and Mercator will take over all Omega's retail units when it gets approval of the Bosnian competition authority," Mercator said in a statement.
It said Omega has five retail units in Bosnia, while another two are being built. At present, Mercator has 25 retail units in the country.
The acquisition is in line with Mercator's plan to raise its market share in Bosnia to 10 percent by 2012 from some 2 percent at present.
Mercator has units in Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro and hopes to extend to other markets in the region in the coming years.
Shares of Mercator eased 2.58 percent to 330 euros on Monday, while the blue-chip SBI index lost 2.5 percent.