PODGORICA (Montenegro), January 25 (SeeNews) – Polish company OT Logistics said on Wednesday that it expects to close the talks on the acquisition of a 30% state-owned stake in Montenegrin port operator Luka Bar by the start of the second quarter of 2017.
"Our bid has been formally approved and we have entered the final phase of the negotiations with the Montenegrin State Treasury," the press office of OT Logistic told SeeNews in an e-mailed statement.
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The acquisition of 30% of Luka Bar would help OT Logistics to strengthen its position in the Balkans and on the North-South transport corridor, OT Logistics said.
Earlier this week, Montenegrin media quoted the president of the country's privatisation agency, Branko Vujovic, as saying that the talks with OT Logistics for the sale of the shareholding will start in the beginning of February.
There has already been a preliminary meeting with representatives of the Polish company to present the main conditions of the contract, Vujovic said.
In December, OT Logistics placed the sole bid in the tender for the privatisation of a 30% stake the operator of Montenegro's Bar port. The Polish company offered 7.1 million euro ($7.6 million) plus a 17.1 million euro three-year investment programme for the acquisition of the stake.
A total of 17,030,021 state-owned shares in Luka Bar, with a nominal value of 1.2113 euro each, are up for sale. The majority owner of Luka Bar is the Montenegrin government with a stake of 54.05%.
Earlier this month, Montenegro said OT Logistics also placed the single binding bid, of 2.5 million euro, in its tender for the sale of a 51% stake in state-owned rail cargo operator Montecargo.
($ = 0.9323 euro)