UK financial agencies are battling it out this month for a public
relations account from Croatia’s leading pharmaceutical company Pliva.
The firm, which is 83 per cent owned by Croatia’s state privatisation
agency and two government-controlled pension funds, is hoping to
increase private ownership to around 53 per cent via an international
share offering next spring.
Led by UBS and Croatia’s Zagrebacka Banka with support from the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the sell-off will be aimed at
foreign investors and the domestic market.
Dewe Rogerson and Gavin Anderson are believed to be pitching for the
estimated six- figure PR account. It will involve international media
relations and investor relations support as well as design work and some
advertising.
The agency will have to educate investors about the opportunities in
Croatia following the signing of the Bosnian peace accord at the end of
last month. In May, a similar offering by the state privatisation agency
of 25 per cent of Pliva’s shares fell through after it failed to attract
any buyers.
