SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina), July 29 (SeeNews) – Bosnia's Muslim-Croat Federation did not receive a single bid in an auction for a 19.3% state stake in drug maker Bosnalijek held on the Sarajevo Stock Exchange on July 28, the bourse said on Friday.
"The auction of Bosnalijek shares wasn't successful because there wasn't a single interested buyer," the bourse said in a statement.
You can subscribe to our M&A newsletter here
It also noted that the Federation's privatisation agency has wrongly attributed the failure of the auction to technical problems on the stock exchange.
"We want to reiterate that the sale of state stakes via the bourse is the most transparent and efficient way to privatise companies in minority state ownership," the statement reads.
Earlier this year, two auctions for a state stake in insurer Sarajevo Osiguranje also failed to attract bidders on the bourse.
Earlier this month, the Federation said it will sell 1,507,724 shares in Bosnalijek for 15.50 marka ($8.8/7.9 euro) apiece.
Bosnalijek's net profit increased to 11.2 million marka in 2015 from 10.1 million marka a year earlier. The company markets its product in 13 countries and employs over 700 in Bosnia.
The Federation is one of the two autonomous entities that make up Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other one is the Serb Republic.
(1 euro=1.95583 marka)