August 14 (SeeNews) - Serbian drug maker Galenika's shareholders gave the green light to the conversion of debt to the government into equity, opening the way for the company's privatisation, a trade union leader said.
The government will raise its stake in Galenika to 93% from 85%, while 7% will remain in the hands of retail investors, the leader of trade union Nezavisnost at Galenika, Zoran Pantelic, said in a video file posted on the website of news agency Tanjug on Monday.
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Earlier this month, Pantelic said a potential tender for the government-owned stake in Galenika, following the conversion of 100 million euro ($117.9 million) of debt into shares, has attracted the interest of five companies.
Serbian media reported in July that the government is expected to launch a tender for the sale of a majority stake in Galenika on September 1.
In March, Serbia's government cancelled a procedure for the privatisation of Galenika under a proposal of the commission that had held negotiations with the sole bidder, a British-Russian consortium.
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