Ljubljana/Koper, 3 April: "Istrabenz is a long-term and strategic investor in Mercator, so it has no intention of selling its shares," Istrabenz's CEO Igor Bavcar said in response to unofficial media reports that Slovenia's largest supermarket chain is a target of a hostile foreign takeover. According to the daily, the dispute between the Serb tycoon Milan Beko, Istrabenz and beverage group Pivovarna Lasko, Mercator's largest owner, is a result of last year's agreement on ownership shares in Mercator. "Unofficial sources say that Beko could gain a 25 per cent share in Mercator after last year's secret deal with Istrabenz's and Pivovarna Lasko's chairmen, Igor Bavcar and Bosko Srot," Finance also writes.