This follows the decision by the Icelandic pharmaceuticals company Actavis to withdraw from the bidding process for Pliva.
The EBRD has been a shareholder in Pliva for 10 years, having purchased 11 per cent of Pliva's shares at the company's initial public offer in April 1996. The bank's investment in Pliva was its first in a Croatian company. Pliva has since become one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the region, with operations throughout Europe and in the United States.
The EBRD is the largest single investor in Croatia, where it has invested 1.5 billion euros into 75 projects. The bank is focusing on providing equity financing to Croatian private companies, privatisation of state-owned enterprises and commercial financing of infrastructure, especially municipalities, the press release said.