Bulgaria's Bulgartabac Holding Group would sell four of its companies on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) in November 2006, Darik Radio quoted Bulgartabac executive director Hristo Lalchev as saying.

The holding already managed to sell one of its companies, cigarette packaging firm Yuri Gagarin BT, in two BSE auctions, for 32.4 million leva.

It was the first big deal accomplished from the strategy for privatisation of Bulgartabac, Lalchev then said, and proved it was a successful strategy.

Bulgartabac would launch a tender for its non-public companies by the end of 2006, Lalchev said. The companies in Sofia, Plovdiv and Stara Zagora would be sold in 2007, he said.

Bulgartabac would keep only four of its companies, Lalchev said.