PODGORICA (Montenegro), April 25 (SeeNews) – Montenegro has terminated the talks for the sale of a 30% state-owned stake in port operator Luka Bar [MNG:LUBA] to Polish company OT Logistics as the selected privatisation model is not in the best interests of the seller, transport minister Osman Nurkovic said.
In this way, the talks for the sale of a 51% interest in state-owned rail cargo operator Montecargo have also been terminated, because the government aimed to sell both stakes in a single package, Nurkovic said at news conference on Monday, according to a video file posted on the government's website.
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"Today's decision means a firm commitment to increase the competitiveness of our ports and to create conditions not only to maintain the existing number of employees at the Port of Bar, but to create the preconditions for the opening of new jobs," deputy prime minister Milutin Simovic said at the news conference.
In December, OT Logistics placed the sole bid in a tender for the sale of a 30% state-owned stake in Luka Bar, the operator of Montenegro's Bar seaport. OT Logistics proposed to pay 7.1 million euro ($7.7 million) for the stake and invest 17.1 million euro over three years.
Montenegro said in January it had received a single binding bid in a tender for the sale of 51% of Montecargo. The bid of 2.5 million euro was also placed by OT Logistics.
($ = 0.918362 euro)