In the broadcast TV Dnevnik on TV Slovenija 1 channel on 22 July 2015 at 7:00 p.m., a report titled “DUTB requests for dismissal of Sava’s Management Board” was released, in which a representative of DUTB, d.d. (hereafter: BAMC), Ms. Katja Peček, otherwise an associate of the Law Firm Fatur, made false and misleading statements concerning the management team of Sava, d.d. Afterwards, her statements and the entire report were repeated by other means of media, too. With this response, we wish to communicate correct information to the public.
The Management Board of Sava, d.d. neither threatens the compulsory settlement procedure in any way whatsoever nor violates any statutory provisions and thus sees no reason for resigning from position.
The statement claiming that the Management Board of Sava d.d. is exhausting the company was already made by BAMC on several occasions and it was repeatedly argued and rejected by Sava d.d. as being false. On the contrary, the Management Board of Sava d.d. supports the tourism companies of Sava Turizem d.d., Hoteli Bernardin, d.d. and Istrabenz Turizem, d.d. in development and integration that generates the value through a joint management. Both development and integration of the companies included in Sava Turizem d.d., Hoteli Bernardin, d.d. and Istrabenz Turizem, d.d. receive every support from the other creditors, too. The subsidiary Sava Turizem d.d. also makes regular investments in maintenance and renewal of its accommodations capacities up to the amount defined in the Master Restructuring Agreement made with the creditor banks in the loan restructuring process. Any higher investments would constitute violations of commitments from the Agreement made with the banks and BAMC.
The statement that the present Management Board of Sava d.d. caused a high level of indebtedness is false. On the contrary, the Management Board took over the management in an outstandingly demanding financial situation and ever since taking over its mandate it has prepared and successfully carried out the strategic activities that aim at renewal of the Sava Group. During the said period, the principals and interests of even 140 million euros were repaid, thereby significantly reducing the company’s debts. Furthermore, the Management Board has introduced considerable cost rationalisations in all of the companies, which results in increasingly improved results of the Sava Group’s members.
In addition, the statement that the Board does not cooperate with BAMC does not hold true. As in all other procedures, the Management Board consistently communicates information; of course, in accordance with the regulations and legal status that individual creditors have in compulsory settlement procedure.
Claiming that Sava d.d. is divesting past the agreements is also not correct, as divesting of financial operations was defined already at the beginning of divestment programme. The creditors requested a faster sale of assets, of Gorenjska banka, d.d. and the Alpen.SI fund to be exact. This is why Sava d.d. initiated the sale process for Gorenjska banka, d.d., which also complies with the statutory provisions. Now, BAMC has brought a halt to this process.
We believe that a cause of such false and misleading statements by the BAMC representatives primarily lies in a conceptual divergence between BAMC and Sava d.d. BAMC namely wishes to sell out the assets of Sava d.d. in slightly more than two years and finally liquidate the company. BAMC has already presented this intention in writing to certain other creditors of Sava d.d., which, however, is entirely contrary to statements made by BAMC in public claiming the intention is to invest and develop the tourism business. Sava d.d., however, wishes to develop and integrate tourism companies, which is advocated by other creditors too, as this means generating the value through a joint management. Indeed, the intentions of BAMC are also in a direct contrast to the decision by the state, ranking Sava d.d. (with its investments in tourism business and tourism consolidation programme) in the portfolio of significant investments according to the state assets classification. Last week, the National Assembly passed a decree on the issue confirming the same.
These attacks by BAMC will not do any good, neither to creditors nor to the shareholders of Sava d.d., and primarily not to the development of the Slovenian tourism industry. We at Sava d.d. are striving for establishing a constructive dialogue, based on which a final agreement can be reached, however all stakeholders involved have to participate in a constructive manner in this process.
Sava d.d.
Corporate Communications