Greek tobacco processing company Leaf Tobacco Michailidis is offering BGN 2.3 mln for tobacco processing plant Sandanski BT, said Bulgarian tobacco monopoly Bulgartabac Holding. Bulgartabac is selling 99.946 per cent of Sandanski BT for a minimum BGN 2.1 mln. The bid receipt deadline expired on January 17. The submitted offers will be graded solely on their price parameters. The sale of the Sandanski-based plant is part of the holding's corporate restructuring program. The next 2 Bulgartabac subsidiaries that will go up for sale are Smolyan BT and Kardjali BT, said Vladimir Karolev from the consortium hired to advise the privatisation procedure. The 2 companies are not public and therefore will be sold through a competitive procedure. The Bulgartabac management is expected to approve the papers for the sales within the next 10 days. More information on the upcoming privatisation of cigarette factories Plovdiv BT and Slantse Stara Zagora BT is expected to be made public over the next couple of days. Bulgartabac's initial plans were for the companies to be sold on the local stock exchange together with their cigarette-making licences. The tobacco holding has so far successfully sold subsidiaries in Plovdiv and Pazardjik, both on the local bourse. Pazardjik BT fetched BGN 4.72 mln while J.G. BT sold for BGN 27.6 mln.
Source: Dnevnik (19.01.2007)

The starting auction price for Bulgartabac Holding's 85.35-percent majority stake in Dupnitsa BT will be BGN 10,000, the supervisory and management boards of the tobacco holding decided. The value of the submitted bids will be the main criterion for the selection of the future owner of Dupnitsa BT. The deadline for the submission of the bids is yet to be determined, Bulgartabac said. This is Bulgartabac's fourth attempt to sell 457,952 shares of the capital of Dupnitsa BT. The previous three attempts for the company to be privatised through the Bulgarian Stock Exchange failed in December 2006. Dupnitsa BT was last traded on BSE on March 7, 2006, when 4,050 shares in the company changed hands at a price of BGN 2.7 per share.
Source: Pari (21.03.2007)

Bulgarian tobacco monopoly Bulgartabac has slashed to BGN 0.7 mln the minimum price for the privatisation of its tobacco processing factory in Yambol. In mid-February, a 99.74 per cent stale in Yambol BT was put up for sale at a price of BGN 1.4 mln. The bid receipt deadline expired on March 16 with no buyers coming forward. The bids in the new procedure will be due a month after it is advertised in the local media. Bulgartabac said the new bid receipt deadline will fall after mid-May. Buyer disinterest also prompted Bulgartabac to lower from BGN 204,000 to BGN 10,000 the asking price for its tobacco processing unit Dupnitsa BT. On Friday, the tobacco holding announced that the bid receipt deadlines for Smolian BT and Kardjali BT are May 11 and 16, respectively. Bidding for a 99.66 per cent stake in Smolian BT will start at BGN 1.5 mln while the 90.56 per cent stake in Kardjali BT is priced at a minimum BGN 2.5 mln. A 78.27 per cent stake in Gotse Delchev BT will be auctioned on the local stock exchange May 15. The minimum asking price is fixed at BGN 2.25 mln. As with the other 3 Bulgartabac subsidiaries, the stakes will not be fragmented for the sell-off procedures. Gotse Delchev BT is the only publicly traded company among the four units earmarked for privatisation.
Source: Dnevnik (16.04.2007)

Local company Builder is the new owner of Smolian BT, the tobacco processing factory put up for sale by Bulgarian tobacco monopoly Bulgartabac. Builder, the only candidate for the factory, had to bid up the guide price by only BGN 510 to BGN 1,500,501 to win the auction for a 99.66 per cent equity stake. Divestiture procedure are also underway for the state-owned interest in Bulgartabac units Kardjali BT, Dupnitsa BT, Yambol BT and Gotse Delchev BT.
Source: Dnevnik (14.05.2007)

No candidate buyers showed up at the mixed closed auction organised by the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) for Bulgartabac Holding's subsidiary Gotse Delchev BT. The previous auction organised for the company also failed to attract buyers. A total of 753,062 shares or 78.27% of the capital of Gotse Delchev BT are offered on BSE. The minimum price for the package was set at BGN 2.25 million. Sales procedures are yet to be launched for Assenovgrad BT and Shumen BT, which are also part of Bulgartabac Holding's procedure.
Source: Pari (29.05.2007)