Three in bid frame for Bulgarian cigarette maker
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17:04, Monday 4 July 2011
* British American Tobacco among final three
* Winner to be picked in September
SOFIA, July 4 (Reuters) - British American Tobacco is among three companies expected to bid for Bulgaria's majority stake in cigarette maker Bulgartabak , the privatisation agency said on Monday.
The other two are Austria-based CB Family Office Service and BT Invest.
Bulgaria opened a tender in April, inviting strategic and financial investors, in an attempt to bolster public revenue and ensure a market for Bulgarian tobacco.
The three firms have until Aug. 29 to place a deposit and submit binding offers, the agency said. Sofia is expected to make a final decision in September.
Bulgaria is selling its 79.8 percent of the company, which has two cigarette mills and a tobacco processing unit. The remaining 20.2 percent is on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.
The proceeds would help the European Union's poorest member cut its fiscal deficit to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product this year from 4 percent in 2010.
The government had pledged to sell Bulgartabak by the end of 2009 in an open auction, but the plan failed to attract investor interest and the cabinet hired Citigroup (NYSE: C - news) to structure a deal, estimated to be worth 100 million euros ($145.5 million). ($1= 0.6872 euro) (Reporting by Irina Ivanova;
Editing by David Hulmes)
Mon Jul 04, 2011 11:08 pm
