Bulgartabac Holding AD (Булгартабак-Холдинг АД) (Bulgaria)

Bulgartabak Holding is one of the leading tobacco companies in central and eastern Europe. The holding comprises more than 10 subsidiaries engaged in the purchase, processing, export and trade in tobacco, manufacture and export of tobacco products, distribution and trade with tobacco products.
In mid-2004, Bulgarian authorities launched a third privatisation procedure for Bulgartabak Holding. The first tender failed to attract a single bid in 2000. A second tender held in March 2003 fell through after Bulgaria's sell-off body rejected a planned sale of 80% in Bulgartabak for EUR 110 million to a Deutsche Bank-led consortium, claiming the deal was unfavourable. In December 2009, the state announced plans to sell the holding by the middle of 2010, but in June 2010 the procedure was postponed. In September 2011, Bulgaria's Privatisation Agency and the Austria-based unit of Russian majority state-owned VTB Bank - BT Invest, signed an agreement for the sale of the 79.83% state stake in Bulgartabak.