Depositary receipt holders of Fortenova Group STAK Stichting, the ultimate owner of Fortenova grupa d.d., adopted several decisions in Amsterdam on Thursday, including on extending the term of the Fortenova Group's Board of Directors for another six years.

The decisions were adopted by more than 77% of the present votes, Fortenova Group said in a press release.

At two previous shareholders’ meetings where the same decisions were proposed last August, the majority required to adopt them was not present because the sanctioned shareholder SBK Art, under control of Russia’s Sberbank, which holds 42.5% of voting rights, was not able to participate in the voting due to the sanctions.

The decisions “will, to the benefit of the company and all non-sanctioned shareholders, facilitate the decision-making at future Assembly meetings, enable the further consolidation of Fortenova Group’s structure and operations and provide for the timely adoption of key business decisions.”

“Thanks to the decisions of the Assembly, it will now be possible to make new acquisitions or mergers or dispose of assets up to the maximum amount of EUR 500 million in 2023, subject to the prior decision of Fortenova Group’s Board of Directors, while they have also created the prerequisites for the refinancing of Fortenova Group’s existing debt and addressing various financial liabilities, also subject to the Board of Directors’ prior approval,” the press release said.

The shareholders reappointed Board of Directors members Fabris Perusko, Pavao Vujnovac, Damir Spudic, Maksim Poletaev and Vsevolod Rozanov for another six years.

“Fortenova Group’s management, with the support of its owners, remains focused on excellence in operational performance,” said Perusko, who is also Fortenova Group’s CEO.

As for projects, he added, priority will be given to debt refinancing and further operational expansion, “which we will now be able to realize regardless of the sanctioned shareholder without voting rights that will no longer be able to block the company’s normal operations with their inability to vote.”