Zsolnay majority owner cries foul over ‘hostile’ takeover attempt

Budapest, June 14 (MTI) – Bachar Najari, the majority owner of porcelain maker Zsolnay Porcelanmanufaktura, said at a press conference on Tuesday that his company has come under attack by a group lobbying to take over the business.

Najari complained that the mayor of Pécs, where Zsolnay is based, had damaged the company by announcing that it was on the verge of bankruptcy. Since then, a number of Zsolnay’s partners have cancelled trade with the company, he added.

Najari noted that when he acquired the company in 2013, Zsolnay had liabilities going back more than ten years and an annual loss of almost 300 million forints (EUR 956,000). In the first year under Zsolnay’s new ownership, losses were halved and the company nearly broke even in the second year, he added.

Najari said that Zsolnay is now exporting to a number of countries, has opened new shops, restarted vocational training and is preparing to start production of its special pyrogranite ceramics on a large scale, the owner said.

Feedback from the local council, which holds a minority stake in Zsolnay, was positive until last year, when the company “came under attack”, he added.

Zsolnay tiles and stoneware ornaments, some made more than a hundred years ago, adorn many of Hungary’s landmark buildings.

Photo: Facebook

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters