Eurohold Bulgaria Group To Restructure Operations into Subholdings by Early 2009

“Eurohold Bulgaria expects that the process of restructuring of the holding company will be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2009,” the holding group said in a statement.

Eurohold Bulgaria’s shareholders have approved earlier on Monday plans to set up a Dutch-based subsidiary, Eurolease Holding, merging its Bulgarian, Romanian and Macedonian leasing companies.

“The setup of the leasing services holding is part of a long-term strategy of Eurohold Bulgaria, launched in end-2007 and aimed at the establishment of three sub-holdings, which will functionally unite the holding company's units according to its three core businesses – insurance, leasing and car sales,” it added.

The group set up the insurance sub-holding firm Euroins Insurance Group in December 2007. The last step of the restructuring is the upcoming establishment of an autosales sub-holding.

Eurolease Holding’ s combined market value is estimated at 25.6 million levs ($16.7 million/13.5 million euro), Eurohold Bulgaria said earlier in October.

Last month, Deutsche Bank said it arranged financing of up to 200 million euro ($248.3 million) through securitisation of receivables for the group's Bulgarian leasing unit as part of the long-term development strategy of Eurohold Bulgaria to achieve synergy between the companies in its structure.

Shares in the group, part of the broader BG 40 index on Sofia bourse, traded 7.5% higher at 2.22 levs at 0857 GMT on Monday.

(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)