The Cabinet on June 29 approved the sale of its 70 per cent stake in Bulgarian River Shipping Corporation (BRSC) to local industrial group Chimimport for 22 million leva (11.3 million euro).
The purchase contract is to be signed by the Bulgarian Shipping Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chimimport, the Government said in a statement.
Chimimport already owns almost all of the remaining 30 per cent in BRSC, which the Government sold on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange - Sofia in 2004.
Chimimport has pledged to invest 25 million euro in BRSC over a five-year period and raise the BRSC staff to 731 from the current 571.
In March, the Cabinet decided to sell its stake in BRSC to Chimimport, the second-ranked bidder in a tender for the sale of the shipping company, after the top bidder, the local company Kaolin, withdrew from the race.
Kaolin placed the highest bid of 13.16 million euro for the 70 per cent stake in BRSC. In July 2005, however, Chimimport appealed in the Supreme Administrative Court against the Governments choice of Kaolin. The court ordered a temporary stay in the privatisation of the shipping company.
Five months later, Kaolins parent company Alfa Finance Holding group sold its stake of nearly 30 per cent in BRSC to Chimimport and pulled out of the race for the majority stake.
Chimimport is majority owner of Bulgarias Central Co-operative Bank (CCB); pension fund CCB-Sila; Bulgarias second-biggest air carrier, Hemus Air; and oil and gas prospecting firm Prouchvane i Dobiv Na Neft i Gaz.
BRSC, based in the Danube port city of Ruse, raised its net profit last year more than five times to some 1.7 million leva. Its sales rose in 2005 by 27 per cent to 31.7 million leva.
