Economy Minister Tomislav Coric said on Thursday there would be no changes to the ownership structure of Fortenova Group after Sberbank Europe had sold some of its subsidiaries in the CEE region, including one in Croatia, to Belgrade-based AIK Bank, Slovenia's Gorenjska Banka, and Agri Europe Cyprus Limited.

“Sales on the banking market fall within the regulatory framework of the Croatian Central Bank. As I understand, this is about one of Sberbank’s subsidiaries in this part of Europe,” Coric said after a cabinet meeting when he was asked by reporters to comment on the transaction.

Asked whether there would be any changes to the ownership structure of Fortenova Group, in which Russian-owned Sberbank holds a stake of nearly 40 per cent, Coric briefly said: “We do not expect any changes in that regard.”

Fortenova Group has also said that the sale of Sberbank’s subsidiaries in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia would have no impact on the ownership of Sberbank Russia in Fortenova Group. “Sberbank Russia remains Fortenova Group’s largest individual shareholder,” Fortenova Group said earlier on Thursday.