BELGRADE (Serbia), December 3 (SeeNews) – Serbia will call a prequalification tender for the sale of its largest drug maker Galenika on December 15, Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic said on Thursday.
He also confirmed earlier reports carried by local media that the government would not consider bidders offering less than 200 million euro ($301.8 million) for 100% of Galenika.
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“We already announced previously that the sale will be completed in two stages. The first stage is intended to enable bidders to express their interest because we have to see who – and if anyone – is interested in a strategic partnership with Galenika,” Dinkic told a news conference.
“The second stage will be to open a binding tender after which we will be able to finally decide whether to sell Galenika, or not. If we do not receive appropriate bids we will give up for the time being on the privatisation of Galenika," Dinkic added.
Galenika expects its net profit to rise by around 10% to 7.0 million euro ($10 million) this year, the company's director general, Nenad Ognjenovic, told SeeNews earlier.
Galenika’s major domestic competitors include Sumadijalek, owned by Greek pharmaceutical company Alapis, and Hemofarm, owned by Germany’s STADA.
($=0.6627 euro)