THE only factor delaying the organisation of the distribution of Bulgarian cigarettes on the Russian market is the unregulated operation of SK Tabac in Podolsk, Bulgartabac Holding said on Monday.
SK Tabac continued to manufacture Bulgarian cigarettes illegally and the risk of dumping by the Russian firm was the main reason preventing many Russian traders from getting involved in the sale of Bulgartabac products, the Holding said.
A new business programme by Bulgartabac, designed to stabilise and improve conditions for marketing its products in Russia, was discussed at a general meeting of shareholders in Sochi, where Bulgartabac holds 77 per cent stake in a cigarette-making factory.
Bulgartabac’s foreign investment director, Ivo Todorov, visited Sochi last week.
Negotiations with the Samos and Marketfort distributing companies in Russia have reached their final stage.
According to Bulgartabac, a contract has already been signed with Samos and the one with Marketfort is at the stage of technical editing.
Currently, the market potential for Bulgarian cigarettes is between 500 and 700 tons a month, and it is expected this will be reached by July. The factory in Sochi has the capacity to meet this demand.
Last week, all eyes were on the Bulgartabak sales procedure. According to the latest unofficial information, preliminary bids for Bulgartabak range between $80 million and $145 million.
Tobacco Capital Partners and Consortium Metatabak have reportedly submitted the highest bids.
Meanwhile, the presence of Tobacco Capital Partners’ participation in the tender prompted some media attacks against Economy Minister Nikolai Vassilev, because the company allegedly had close ties to him and Finance Minister Milen Velchev.
Several newspapers reported that the Tobacco Capital Partners is headed by Bozhan Stoyanov, who is the chairman of the Bulgarian Wall Street Club, an organisation that brings together Bulgarian professionals in the US financial sector.
Pari daily reported that Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, which backs Tobacco Capital Partners, would only guarantee that the bidder has enough resources to pay the price. The proposed mechanism envisages that Deutsche Morgan Grenfell takes over Tobacco Capital Partners if the latter acquires Bulgartabac.
After bringing the holding back on its feet, the bank would probably re-sell it, reports said.
Unofficial sources suggest that Tobacco Capital Partners would be ready to pay $100 million for Bulgartabac, a price other bidders could have difficulty matching.
Experts commented that the sale of Bulgartabac might be headed for failure because only a handful of potential bidders, which lack reliability and reputation, applied for it.
The final list of entities that submitted preliminary bids includes Tobacco Holding, Consortium Metatabak, Tobacco Capital Partners, Regional Perspective bank (former Odintsovo Bank) and Hungary’s Vitabak.
SK Tabac continued to manufacture Bulgarian cigarettes illegally and the risk of dumping by the Russian firm was the main reason preventing many Russian traders from getting involved in the sale of Bulgartabac products, the Holding said.
A new business programme by Bulgartabac, designed to stabilise and improve conditions for marketing its products in Russia, was discussed at a general meeting of shareholders in Sochi, where Bulgartabac holds 77 per cent stake in a cigarette-making factory.
Bulgartabac’s foreign investment director, Ivo Todorov, visited Sochi last week.
Negotiations with the Samos and Marketfort distributing companies in Russia have reached their final stage.
According to Bulgartabac, a contract has already been signed with Samos and the one with Marketfort is at the stage of technical editing.
Currently, the market potential for Bulgarian cigarettes is between 500 and 700 tons a month, and it is expected this will be reached by July. The factory in Sochi has the capacity to meet this demand.
Last week, all eyes were on the Bulgartabak sales procedure. According to the latest unofficial information, preliminary bids for Bulgartabak range between $80 million and $145 million.
Tobacco Capital Partners and Consortium Metatabak have reportedly submitted the highest bids.
Meanwhile, the presence of Tobacco Capital Partners’ participation in the tender prompted some media attacks against Economy Minister Nikolai Vassilev, because the company allegedly had close ties to him and Finance Minister Milen Velchev.
Several newspapers reported that the Tobacco Capital Partners is headed by Bozhan Stoyanov, who is the chairman of the Bulgarian Wall Street Club, an organisation that brings together Bulgarian professionals in the US financial sector.
Pari daily reported that Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, which backs Tobacco Capital Partners, would only guarantee that the bidder has enough resources to pay the price. The proposed mechanism envisages that Deutsche Morgan Grenfell takes over Tobacco Capital Partners if the latter acquires Bulgartabac.
After bringing the holding back on its feet, the bank would probably re-sell it, reports said.
Unofficial sources suggest that Tobacco Capital Partners would be ready to pay $100 million for Bulgartabac, a price other bidders could have difficulty matching.
Experts commented that the sale of Bulgartabac might be headed for failure because only a handful of potential bidders, which lack reliability and reputation, applied for it.
The final list of entities that submitted preliminary bids includes Tobacco Holding, Consortium Metatabak, Tobacco Capital Partners, Regional Perspective bank (former Odintsovo Bank) and Hungary’s Vitabak.
