Arbitration tribunal dismisses the claim for damages brought by APG|SGA and its Serbian subsidiary Alma Quattro against Serbia

[Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 KR] APG|SGA today announced an arbitral award under the rules of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes ( ICSID), relating to a 25-year contract with the Serbian capital Belgrade dating from 2017 and issued pursuant to the Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the Republic of Serbia on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments.

APG|SGA’s subsidiary, Alma Quattro, has had a partnership with the City of Belgrade since 1995. The relevant contract was extended for a further 25 years in 2017, and Alma Quattro was granted exclusive rights to use all public outdoor advertising spaces within the city limits. Just two years later, however, the city awarded a similar concession for digital outdoor advertising spaces to a Serbian rival company. All legal action taken locally proved unsuccessful.

In order to safeguard their claims, APG|SGA and Alma Quattro initiated ICSID arbitration proceedings in 2021 under the aforementioned investment protection agreement, which has now been concluded with the arbitral tribunal’s award of 13 April 2026. In its final award, the arbitral tribunal dismissed the claim brought by APG|SGA and Alma Quattro and ordered them to pay Serbia legal costs of USD 3,491,211.87 (approx. CHF 2.724 million).

The 2017 contract remains in force, however, and Alma Quattro is continuing its successful operations in Serbia.