Ljubljana, Feb 4 - The biggest shareholders of Slovenia's leading retail chain Mercator declined to say on Tuesday how many bids they had received at a tender, in what analysts said was a sign the sale might not go through.
Two owners -- beverage producer Pivovarna Lasko and investment firm Infond Holding -- opened a joint tender for their 48.34 percent stake in the company in December and set Feb. 2 as the deadline for non-binding bids.
Mercator, which operates in several Balkan markets, is Slovenia's fourth largest listed company with a market capitalisation of 605.9 million euros ($779.2 million).
On Tuesday Slovenia's official STA news agency reported that Serbia's biggest food retailer, Delta Holding, had submitted its bid.
Pivovarna Lasko and Infond Holding said they would not give information on the bids until the sale is complete.
"This raises the risk that the sale may not go through and keeps the market in uncertainty," Matej Tomazin of investment firm Alfa Invest told Reuters.
He said, however, that Mercator shares were expected to move along with the rest of the market in the following weeks.
Mercator shares eased 0.1 percent to 160 euros on Tuesday while the blue-chip SBI index <.SBI> lost 1.03 percent.
In December, the owners said the best bidders would be invited to perform due diligence in Mercator, after which negotiations with the final bidders would take place. They gave no deadline for the sale but reserved the right to stop the sale at any stage of the process.
Analysts said several European retailers could be interested in buying Mercator, while financial investors could also be among bidders.
Local media had said over the past months Britain's Tesco , France's Carrefour (CARR.PA> and Croatian Agrokor could be among bidders.
The Ljubljana bourse told Reuters the owners were not obliged to reveal any information during the sale process, providing all information is kept confidential. ($1=.7776 Euro)