A press release from Turkey's Yildirim Group released on Thursday said that the company "begun the process of acquisition" of Terra Mineralna Gnojiva (TMG), a joint-stock company owned by gas distributor PPD and the state-owned oil firm Ina, which owns a 54.5-stake in the Petrokemija fertilizer maker.

This process will be completed “after the terms of the sales agreement have been fulfilled,” the press release said, without any clarification. The value of the deal was also undisclosed. The statement said that “due diligence and negotiations took slightly more than two years.”

Terra Mineralna Gnojiva (TMG) was formed by the Vukovar-based gas distributor PPD and the Ina oil and gas company, to acquire a 54.5-percent share in Croatia’s ailing state-owned fertilizer manufacturer Petrokemija in October 2018, in a recapitalization which saw PPD and Ina invest 150 million kuna (€20 million) each.

This would mean that the company’s valuation at the time was 550 million kuna (€73 million). The remaining 45 percent is still state-owned.

“This allowed Petrokemija to avoid bankruptcy and begin a period of recovery and stabilization, going from posting a 500 million kuna (€66.6 million) loss to operating at a profit,” the unsigned statement said, without specifying the profits since.

Neither the state news agency Hina nor the press release mentioned how many people are currently employed at Petrokemija, the largest fertilizer manufacturer in the country.

Due to the global surge in gas prices – the main resource used for making fertilizer – Petrokemija had halted manufacturing earlier this year, as rising costs made it unviable. Local media reported that production is not expected to restart until at least January 2023.

“Although Petrokemija stopped manufacturing this year due to high gas prices, there were no lay-offs, all wages were paid on time, and worker’s rights guaranteed by the collective bargaining agreement were honored. Today, Petrokemija is ready for further business development, and deserves a partner who is knowledgeable in the mineral fertilizer market, brings new knowledge, guarantees future development, and opens doors to new markets and products,” the press release said.

Yildirim is an Istanbul-based global industrial group operating in nine sectors: metallurgy and mining, port management, mineral fertilizer, energy and energy trade, logistics, international trade, construction and real estate, and financial services. Tracing its roots back to 1963 when entrepreneur Garip Yildirim established a construction business, the company remained to this day 100-percent owned by the Yildirim family.