Ljubljana, June 3 - Slovenia's competition watchdog will not let investment firm Infond Holding exercise its rights as owner of a stake in the country's top food retailer Mercator, Infond said on Wednesday.
The watchdog ruled that Infond and its affiliated companies controlled 48.34 percent of Mercator but had failed to declare its ownership concentration as required by law, Infond said, adding that it would appeal.
While Infond is a direct owner of 25 percent of Mercator, it also owns 54 percent of beverage producer Pivovarna Lasko , which owns 23.3 percent of Mercator.
Infond also said in a statement that the country's largest bank, Nova Ljubljanska Banka, had decided not to roll over a loan that the company has at the bank and which expires on Wednesday.
According to local media, NLB's loan to Infond for 130 million euros ($186 million) was used for a management buyout of Pivovarna Lasko and was secured on Infond's 12 percent stake in Mercator and 20 percent stake in Pivovarna Lasko.
Infond and Lasko announced a tender to sell their 48.34 percent in Mercator in December but have not yet found a buyer.
"The sale process of Mercator continues, and we will be able to give more information when it is completed," Lasko spokesman Jure Struc told Reuters on Wednesday.
According to local media reports, Italian bank Unicredit was interested in buying 12.5 percent of Mercator, while Crotian trading firm Orbico was also looking to buy 12.5 percent.
The reports also said the government was considering buying a stake to prevent a possible foreign takeover.
Analysts said a possible takeover could push up the price of Mercator's shares significantly.
"Demand for Mercator shares has been rising over the past few days due to expectations that Infond will be forced to sell Mercator," said Jure Vrhunec of Raiffeisen Bank.
Shares of Mercator rose 1.02 percent to 172 euros on Wednesday, while the blue-chip SBI index gained 1.17 percent.
Mercator told Reuters it was not involved in the sales process of the firm's shares but added it hoped to remain an independent company.