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Fri, Feb 10 2012
Investment fund wants Bugartabac
An investment fund owned by Deutsche Bank is interested in buying Bulgartabac Holding, Economy Minister Nikolai Vassilev announced last Thursday. The fund is interested in buying the entire holding and not self-contained parts of it, he revealed.
Vassilev met with representatives of the bank last week.
"There are other candidates for the holding as well," he added. "We are optimistic that the issue with the privatization of the holding will be resolved with the participation of one of these buyers."
It has not yet been decided whether Bulgartabac will be sold as a whole or in self-contained parts. "We will do our best to protect the interests of the state and the tobacco growers," Vassilev said.
He also announced that the Privatization Agency (PA) will alter the method for selling Bulgartabac from negotiations with potential buyers to competitive bidding.
The Deutsche Bank delegation familiarized him with the details of the bank's experience in Bulgaria so far, and expressed their satisfaction with the cabinet's plans for quick and transparent privatization.
"We view our investment in the Bulgarian pharmaceutical industry as a great success for ourselves and for Bulgaria alike, and we expect the government to quickly take a decision for the privatization of the tobacco industry in a way that is best for Bulgaria, therefore preserving the structural integrity of the industry," delegation head Mark Donegan said.
According to Vassilev, competitive bidding is the fairest and most transparent privatization method. "Look at what we did in the past couple of days with the sale of hotels along the coast and compare that with the job done for the privatization of other hotels by the previous incumbents."
The German company Reemstma has sent a letter of intent to the Ministry of the Economy and the PA saying it is ready to pay $100-120 million for the holding.
Another option considered for Bulgartabac is attracting candidates for the separate companies in the holding. Interest in the privatization of self-contained parts has been expressed so far by British American Tobacco and Philip Morris. The former is interested in the Sofia and Blagoevgrad branches, while the latter has shown interest in the factory in Stara Zagora and two tobacco processing plants as well.
Last week, a new executive management and a new board of directors was appointed in Bulgartabac Holding. The deputy minister of economy Lyubka Kachakova became chairman of the board.
Vassilev met with representatives of the bank last week.
"There are other candidates for the holding as well," he added. "We are optimistic that the issue with the privatization of the holding will be resolved with the participation of one of these buyers."
It has not yet been decided whether Bulgartabac will be sold as a whole or in self-contained parts. "We will do our best to protect the interests of the state and the tobacco growers," Vassilev said.
He also announced that the Privatization Agency (PA) will alter the method for selling Bulgartabac from negotiations with potential buyers to competitive bidding.
The Deutsche Bank delegation familiarized him with the details of the bank's experience in Bulgaria so far, and expressed their satisfaction with the cabinet's plans for quick and transparent privatization.
"We view our investment in the Bulgarian pharmaceutical industry as a great success for ourselves and for Bulgaria alike, and we expect the government to quickly take a decision for the privatization of the tobacco industry in a way that is best for Bulgaria, therefore preserving the structural integrity of the industry," delegation head Mark Donegan said.
According to Vassilev, competitive bidding is the fairest and most transparent privatization method. "Look at what we did in the past couple of days with the sale of hotels along the coast and compare that with the job done for the privatization of other hotels by the previous incumbents."
The German company Reemstma has sent a letter of intent to the Ministry of the Economy and the PA saying it is ready to pay $100-120 million for the holding.
Another option considered for Bulgartabac is attracting candidates for the separate companies in the holding. Interest in the privatization of self-contained parts has been expressed so far by British American Tobacco and Philip Morris. The former is interested in the Sofia and Blagoevgrad branches, while the latter has shown interest in the factory in Stara Zagora and two tobacco processing plants as well.
Last week, a new executive management and a new board of directors was appointed in Bulgartabac Holding. The deputy minister of economy Lyubka Kachakova became chairman of the board.
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