Three bidders shortlisted for Slovene Mercator

LJUBLJANA, March 1 (Reuters) - Three out of eight bidders have been shortlisted for the sale of 21 percent of Mercator (MELR.LJ: Quote, Profile, Research), Slovenia's largest food retailer, the company managing the sale told Reuters on Monday.

"We chose three financial investors and will ask Mercator later this week to enable them to perform due diligence of the company," said Andrej Zejn, managing director of Arkas. Shares in Mercator, which operates stores in Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Albania, were flat at 160 euros by 1200 GMT, while the blue-chip SBI index was down 0.6 percent.

Arkas did not reveal the names of the bidders. Local media reports said the best bid had come from Croatian food retailer Agrokor, Mercator's direct competitor in the region.

But Zejn said only financial investors were invited to perform due diligence, which would exclude Agrokor, although the sellers may continue talks with other bidders as well.

He said the deadline for binding bids will probably be set for early April with a view to the sale being completed by the end of June.

Source:in.reuters.com/