Bulgaria signs deal on Bulgartabac sale
Bulgaria's Privatisation Agency said on September 13 2011 that it had signed an agreement to sell a 79.83 per cent stake in tobacco group Bulgartabac to Austria-registered BT Invest, controlled by Russia's financial group VTB.The company will pay 100.1 million euro for the asset by bank transfer to the sell-off agency. BT Invest already provided 20 per cent of the sum on September 13, with the rest to be paid after the deal gets approval from the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC).BT Invest will gain full control over Bulgartabac after the company pays the entire price for the asset and the competition watchdog approves the deal.The new owner of Bulgartabac is required to preserve the core operations of the company within the next 10 years and not to reduce its shareholding within five years. In addition, BT Invest is obliged to invest seven million leva in Bulgartabac in the coming two years. (Source: The Sofia Echo)