Minority shareholders will not allow the marginalization being imposed on them, and we have proposed a plan to save the Simo Milošević Institute, said their representative and co-owner of Villa Oliva, Žarko Rakčević.
In an interview on TVCG’s Morning Program, Rakčević stated that they will not accept the reduction of minority shareholders’ stake from 27% to 24%, as proposed by the government.
Rakčević explained that 5,000 citizens find relief at the Igalo Institute, and that minority shareholders have done everything to improve the operations of this vital health center, as reported by RTCG Portal.
“What is evident in Europe is that rehabilitation centers are mostly privately owned. This does not mean that the services are of lower quality; on the contrary. The Institute is not on the brink of bankruptcy because of private owners, but due to poor state management, and we, as smaller shareholders, have repeatedly warned about this. Now, citizens’ funds have gone toward covering debts. We warned about party-based employment and the mismanagement of the Institute,” said Rakčević.
He also emphasized that the minority shareholders showed in July that they did not want the Institute to go bankrupt.
“We are not responsible for the debt to Jugobanka. We contributed €5 million to prevent the Institute from going into bankruptcy, and it now faces a loss of €23 million. Brussels insists that state aid should not result in changes to the shareholder structure and that losses should be covered proportionally, which is what we advocate,” Rakčević stated.
He pointed out that last Thursday, the government submitted a new decision on recapitalization, granting itself greater rights in the process compared to other shareholders, enabling it to achieve a two-thirds ownership even if other shareholders participate in the recapitalization.
According to Rakčević, the decision anticipates recapitalization, with the state investing €15 million to acquire an additional 10% of the shares, while Villa Oliva, investing about €2.8 million, would see its stake drop from 27% to 24%. This would allow the government to secure more than two-thirds of the shares and exclude smaller shareholders from further decision-making about the Institute.
Currently, the government holds 56.4% of the shares, Villa Oliva owns 27.4%, and other minority shareholders hold about 16%.
Rakčević argued that the proposed recapitalization decision is contrary to the laws on business companies and capital markets and that they will not support it.
“There are many ways to address this, and we are ready to help cover at least a portion of the losses. The outstanding obligations amount to €23 million, and we are willing to cover €7 million, with the state covering the rest. If they won’t cover the losses, we are ready to cover the entire amount. Yesterday, we received a response that the Institute should be recapitalized, but in violation of the state laws, with no proportional coverage of losses and a reduction of our stake from 27% to 24%,” Rakčević said.
He added that they have turned companies in much worse condition into exemplary entities with four-star ratings.
“It is unacceptable to impose something that goes against the opinion of Brussels. We would be giving money without any say, and that would not be a partnership,” Rakčević stated.
A new meeting is scheduled for January 21, and Rakčević believes that anything is possible, including the potential collapse of the Restructuring Plan.
“We are ready to help, but we will not accept the old practices and management style based on party affiliations and mismanagement. We are ready for anything, even covering the entire €23 million debt, but we will not invest money without having any say in the matter,” Rakčević concluded.
