Skopje, 26 June 2023 (MIA) – The acquisition of business center Soravia in Skopje by Thor Industries and Albanian company Pe-vla-ku is being carried out with a credit line of EUR 6 million through Credins Bank, and with it, the new owners will assume ownership of a debt of EUR 20 million. The amount of the transaction will be published in September when all procedures are finalized, Pe-vla-ku will own 51 percent of the company’s shares, Thor Industries will own 39 percent, while 10 percent will be retained by current owner Hanno Soravia, announced the CEO of Thor Industries, Drin Ahmeti, and the owner of Pe-vla-ku, Vladimir Pjetërgjokaj, at a press conference Monday.

In response to the public coverage of the acquisition due to the alleged cost of EUR 30 million and the fact Drin Ahmeti is the nephew of DUI leader Ali Ahmeti, the CEO of Thor Industries said everything is in order with the acquisition, sharing a confirmation from Albanian bank Credins Bank over the high reputation of Pjetërgjokaj as a shareholder in the bank, which guarantees the line of credit, of which EUR 3 million have been withdrawn so far.

According to Ahmeti, the activities for the acquisition began in April 2022, with analyses of the financial data of the companies that are shareholders in Soravia, as a result of which it was determined that the company has a debt which, he said, they saw as an opportunity.

“This is the story of the financing of this company. The company has over EUR 20 million in liabilities, owed mainly to financial institutions, which we are now taking over, and providing EUR 6 million which we have made available from the bank to change the future of this company into a profitable one,” said Ahmeti, who did not reveal the cost of the acquisition due to the confidentiality of procedures.

Ahmeti dismissed VMRO-DPMNE’s claims that his company has only a single employee, and it was granted concession by the Power Plants of North Macedonia (ESM) for the extraction of limestone. 

“I am not aware of these accusations, but all accusations that usually come from political parties are for political games. Otherwise, they would come from the Public Prosecutor’s Office,” said Ahmeti, adding that the company has 15 employees, but that this figure is changing.

In a remark over the fact he is publicly known as “Ali Ahmeti’s nephew”, Drin Ahmeti said his uncle has been his motivation his whole life, but he has nothing to do with his businesses.

At the press conference, Ahmeti spoke in English, and pointed to the fact he lived both in the country and abroad as the reason why he isn’t speaking Macedonian, stressing that “money and capital recognize no nationality.”

Hanno Soravia, who attended the conference via video, also pointed out that the cost of the acquisition is confidential and confirmed that he will maintain 10 percent of his shares in the company. He clarified that the debt of EUR 20 million is a part of the loans with which he bought the business center from the state.

Pjetërgjokaj said he has known Drin Ahmeti for four years and that they cooperate on projects in Italy.

The owner of Pe-vla-ku dismissed the fact Drin is Ali Ahmeti’s nephew, saying “everyone is someone’s nephew”. Pjetërgjokaj added that he plans to invest in other projects in the country and is still considering joining the project for the construction of corridors VIII and X-d.

The Commission for Protection of Competition published on June 15 that they received a report over the acquisition of the Soravia business center by Thor Industries and Albanian company Pe-vla-ku, and that based on preliminary investigations they determined the deal might fall under the provisions of the Law on Protection of Competition. However, the Commission said the final decision on this issue is yet to be made.