Bulgaria Scraps Parliament Control over Sale of Tobacco Group To Speed up Privatisation - Media

Aiming to speed up the privatisation of the tobacco group, parliament decided to take Bulgartabac off the list of key state-owned companies cricial for national security, whose sale should be endorsed by the legislature to go through. Under the strategy, which called for the selection of a strategic investor and was adopted in 2003, Bulgartabac restructured its operations and sold most of its loss-making units.

In order to sell Bulgartabac the government’s asset-selling agency will now have to draft a new plan. The group comprises the holding company, two cigarette-making factories, a tobacco processing factory, a trading arm and several idled factories. The government owns 79.83% of Bulgartabac Holding.

The privatisation of Bulgaria's former tobacco monopoly has been delayed for years due to political wrangling. The company has gradually lost market share to international majors since Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007. Its current domestic market share is estimated at around 60%.

Bulgartabac stock last traded on the Sofia bourse on December 3, when it closed at 12 levs ($8.78/6.14 euro), down 20% from the previous close on December 1.

(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)