The head of Bulgaria's Corporate Commercial Bank, which is believed to finance the media group of mogul Irena Krasteva, has confirmed his interest in the privatization of the country's state tobacco giant Bulgartabac Holding.

"I do consider participation in Bulgartabac privatization," Tsvetan Vassilev, majority owner and chair of the Supervisory Board of Bulgaria's Corporate Commercial Bank, said in an interview for Pari Daily.

"I can't rule out anything a priori, but first I need to review carefully the procedure, the requirements for the candidates and the state of the company," he stressed.

Corporate Commercial Bank currently holds a 8.11% in Bulgartabac. The bank, which is believed to finance the media group of mogul Irena Krasteva, holds nearly half of the money of strategic state-owned companies.

The eighteen companies listed include the Bulgarian energy holding and its units (gas monopoly Bulgargas, gas pipeline operator Bulgartransgas, state power utility NEK, nuclear power plant Kozloduy, thermal power plant Maritsa East II), as well as tobacco monopoly Bulgartabac, Bulgaria Posts, Sofia Airport, the Bulgarian Railways Company.

A majority stake - 79,83% - in Bulgaria's state cigarette producer Bulgartabac Holding, whose management has been harshly criticized in recent years, was put on sale on April 26 after years of procrastination.

The long-delayed procedure was officially given the go-ahead by the agency for privatization and post-privatization control through an announcement in the State Gazette on May 10.

The agency invited strategic and financial investors to buy tender documents by June 10. Binding offers have to be filed by the end of August.

The bidder with the highest offer will be selected for buyer. No initial price has been set.

Philip Morris International Inc., Japan Tobacco Inc. And Korea's KT&G are among the potential buyers of Bulgartabac Holding, according to Privatization Agency chief Emil Karanikolov.

Bulgarian cigarette maker King's Tobacco has also confirmed interest in the deal, provided that it meets the set requirements.

The buyer of Bulgartabac is expected to be known in September.

The consultant for the Bulgartabac sale, Citigroup Global Markets Ltd, was picked by the Bulgarian government in February 2010.

Two of the less profitable plants of Bulgartabac holding – in the cities of Plovdiv and Stara Zagora – were sold in 2009 through the Sofia Stock Exchange – for BGN 31 M and BGN 18 M respectively.

The holding currently owns the two larger and more consolidated factories in Sofia and Blagoevgrad as well as a number of commercial brands.

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