Sava chairman Gregor Rovanšek said Sava was acting in unison with other state-run shareholders of Hoteli Bernardin: Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC), insurer Triglav and Pension Fund Management (KAD).

Talking with the STA in an interview, Rovanšek described the takeover as an important step in consolidating ownership of hotel managers Sava Turizem, Hoteli Bernardin and Istrabenz Turizem.

This should create the conditions for operative consolidation that would create the synergy effects and thus increase the companies' net value.

To finance the takeover, Sava owners - Slovenian Sovereign Holding, KAD and the Luxembourg-based York Fund - recently endorsed a capital injection of EUR 4.7m.

Sava initially held a 9% stake in the hotel chain, increasing it to around 38% after obtaining shares from the receivership of NFD Holding.

Having published a takeover intent in Dnevnik today, Sava now needs to publish a takeover bid in between ten and 30 days from today. The process will be handled by Alta Invest.

Rovanšek told the STA that, based on an agreement with BAMC, Triglav and KAD, the takeover will target about 24% of Hoteli Bernardin shares not yet held by Sava and the companies it is acting in consort.

Rovanšek also said that the programme of consolidation of the tourism companies had been drawn up in cooperation with an "independent foreign expert".

Through consolidation Sava will be implementing the goals as set out in the strategy of sustainable growth of Slovenian tourism, he said.

Looking forward, Rovanšek sees Sava, which currently has nine employees, as a manager of investments in tourism which will serve as a basis to find foreign strategic parters.

According to him, Sava subsidiary Sava Turizem increased sales revenue by 12% in the past three years, operative profitability expressed in EBITDA by 16%, while capital yield exceeds 5%.

This has been coupled with an extensive investment cycle, in particular in its assets in the lakeside resort of Bled and spa town of Moravske Toplice.

Rovanšek would not say how much Sava would offer for Hoteli Bernardin, but he did say that the takeover process would include an appraisal of the stake and an auditor's opinion on the price's suitability.

Having divested its real estate and rubber operations, equity stakes in the banking sector and other financial investments, Sava has reduced its financial obligations to EUR 113m.

Once the agreement to sell its stake in the bank Gorenjska Banka to Serbia's AIK Banka is finalised, Sava's debt will have been reduced to about EUR 50m, Rovanšek said.

Meanwhile, the ongoing sale of spa operators Terme Lendava and Terme Banovci is not going toward divestment but rather the proceeds would be allocated exclusively as investment in other destinations.

"For the past two years, we have been reinvesting 20% of revenue, which is about 30 million euro. The funds are earmarked for long-term development of our destinations, products," The CEO said.

Sava's key assets are spa tourism accommodation facilities in the north-east of the country, those in the Alpine region and at the seaside. The company turned even in 2016.