June 30 (SeeNews) - Recently set up Bulgarian company Metachem Impex has acquired the assets of insolvent local fertiliser plant Chimco for 11.7 million levs ($6.65 million/6 million euro), Capital daily reported.
Metachem Impex was registered on June 10, 2016, prior to the deal, and it is owned by local businessmen Georgi Pirimov and Ivan Zhirov, a check in the Trade Registry shows.
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Last week, regional media ZovNews said that the only offer for the assets of the plant had been submitted by Pirimov, noting that he has no experience with industrial projects and plans to sell the plant's equipment for scrap.
Several previous attempts to sell the communist-era fertiliser giant failed, as no buyers appeared. In January, the plant was offered for 11.7 million levs, after an 18.4 million lev offer in November 2015. Earlier in 2015, Chimco was offered at a starting price of 22.8 million levs, after a 29 million lev attempt in 2014.
Chimco, which halted operations in 2003, used to be Bulgaria's biggest fertiliser producer with an output capacity of 800,000 tonnes annually, accounting for approximately 3.5% of global production. The plant also produced ammonia, carbon dioxide, argon and various types of catalysts. It was declared bankrupt in 2004.
According to the registry, Metachem Impex operations include production and marketing of mineral fertilisers as well as scrap metal trade.
(1 euro=1.95583 levs)