Bulgarian regulator clears Zahar Invest's buyout bid for Zaharni Zavodi

Elana Trading will act as investment intermediary on the transaction, the regulator said in a decision published on Thursday.

Last week, Zaharni Zavodi said it received a tender offer from its majority shareholder Zahar Invest to acquire the 658,848 shares in the company it does not already own at 6.30 levs ($3.48/3.22 euro) apiece.

Zaharni Zavodi's board believes the bid meets the legal requirements and is fair to its shareholders, taking into account the company's current state and prospective development, the target company in a bourse filing last week.

Last August, the FSC issued a definitive ban on filing a revised offer for the takeover of Zaharni Zavodi by Zahar Invest, saying the tender does not meet the requirements of the relevant legislation and harms the interests of the target company's minority shareholders. Earlier, Zahar Invest had raised to 6.29 levs per share from 5.15 levs per share its proposal to acquire the 5.929% stake in the sugar and ethanol producer.

As of 1000 CET on Friday, shares in Zaharni Zavodi traded 2.52% higher at 6.10 levs on the BaSE market of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.

(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)