Two Bidders Remain for Bulgarian Cigarette Maker

Source from:  Reuters 07/27/2011

SOFIA, July 26 (Reuters) - British American Tobacco and Austria-registered BT Invest are expected to bid for Bulgarian cigarette maker Bulgartabak , after Austria-based CB Family Office Service did not buy tender documents, the privatisation agency said on Tuesday. The sale, expected to fetch at least 100 million euros ($143.4 million), is part of the Bulgarian government's efforts to bolster public revenue in the wake of a recession and ensure a market for Bulgarian tobacco. The Balkan country is expecting binding bids for a 79.8 percent stake in the company, which has two cigarette mills and a tobacco processing unit, by Aug. 29, the privatisation agency said in a statement. The remaining 20.2 percent is already floated on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. This will be the fourth attempt to sell the company, with previous attempts failing due to political meddling and strong lobbying from interest groups benefiting from lucrative cigarette smuggling and state-financed contacts. BT Invest is controlled by Russia (EUREX: OMXR.EX - news) 's state controlled VTB Bank , the privatisation agency has said. Bulgartabak's non-consolidated swung to a net profit of 34.1 million levs ($25 million) in the first half of the year from a loss of 577,000 levs in the same period a year ago, company data showed. ($1 = 0.698 Euros) ($1 = 1.364 Bulgarian Levs) (Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; Editing by David Holmes) Enditem