Five Show Interest in Bulgaria's Insolvent Steelmaker Kremikovtzi - Media

Some of the companies have sent letters of intent to the economy ministry, some have directly written to Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, Dnevnik quoted Deputy Economy Minister Nina Radeva as saying.

Ukrainian-based Smart Group, controlled by Vadim Novinsky, sent a letter to Stanishev on Tuesday offering to cooperate with the state in "drafting a recovery plan for the troubled plant, restructuring of its debts, coordination of investment and social commitments and resolving of its environment and licensing issues," Dnevnik quoted Radeva as saying. The president of the Ukrainian group, Novinsky, is expected to meet Stanishev later on Thursday.

Representatives of a consortium between Czech investment management group M.L. Moran and global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney, which offers a business strategy for the resumption of Kremikovtzi's operations, debt restructuring and a revolving credit line for working capital needed by the plant, are also visiting Bulgaria on Thursday, Dnevnik reported.

Russian iron concentrate and steel trader Prominvest and an unnamed company are offering to supply Kremikovtzi with raw materials.

Valentin Zahariev, who is Kremikovtzi's former owner, also showed interest in the steelmaker but his offer has not been disclosed yet. Zahariev's metals group Intertrust Holding said earlier this month it has sent a letter of intent to the ministry and the plant's receiver to operate the steel mill.

The state holds 25.3% of Kremikovtzi and is its largest creditor. The majority stake in the plant, 71%, is held by GSHL, a subsidiary of Indian steel maker Ispat Industries. Private investors hold the rest.

The economy ministry on Wednesday said that Brazilian steelmaker CSN has shown "serious interest in investing" in the plant.

Kremikovtzi, declared insolvent in August, needs urgently raw materials and an operator which would keep it running during its insolvency procedure and prevent its iron and steel producing facilities from closing down for good. Most capacities at the plant have already been shut down but they can be restarted if supplies of raw material start to arrive.