German group bids $340 mln for Bulgarian Navibulgar

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

29 Feb 2008

German-led consortium KG Maritime Shipping offered 440.1 million levs ($339.8 million) for a 70 percent stake in Bulgaria's state maritime operator Navibulgar, the privatisation agency said on Thursday. The tie-up, led by Germany's Martrade Shipping & Transport, was the only shortlisted bidder for the sale. The offer value compared with industry estimates of 250 million euros ($377 million).The company also pledged to invest some 779 million levs over ten years in the leading shipping line in the Black Sea basin."This is a very good offer," said privatisation agency executive director Todor Nikolov. The agency will prepare a report in two weeks and hand it to the government to decide whether to accept the offer or not. Nikolov said he hoped a deal could be sealed in two months.If approved, the sale of the maritime operator will be the first big privatisation deal of the Socialist-led government that took office in 2005.Political and legal wrangling and lobbying have delayed pending sales in the new European Union member.The sell-off agency has extended several times the deadline for filing an offer for Navibulgar, whose ageing fleet of 71 ships has a combined capacity of some 1.35 million DWT.The agency earlier said two other candidates for the deal -- India's Essar Shipping & Logistics, which runs Essar Shipping, and Greece's Chartworld Shipping Corporation --- did not meet tender requirements.The consortium's offer valued Navibulgar at 628.7 million levs.Bulgaria has decided to move ahead with the tender despite the lack of competition, to help the company upgrade its fleet and expand its market position.