Transimpex sale nears conclusion

Print Article E-Mail Article

Bulgaria's biggest duty-free operator Transimpex is to be sold to a local consortium between distributor Duty Free and consulting firm Galenit Invest. The Bulgarian Privatisation Agency has agreed to the Lev11.9mn ($5.5m) cash sale, which should be completed by January 20.

The successful bidder, which overcame competition from another Bulgarian consortium and one UK rival, will be required to invest an extra Lev3.225mn ($1.48m) in the company over three years, and must retain all 452 employees for that period.

"We have received 30% of the payment already," Transimpex duty-free director Iantcho Ianev told TRW. "We are expecting the remaining 70% to be transferred before January 20. I know little about the buyers other than Duty Free is a distributor of Philip Morris."

The buyers are likely to be more interested in Transimpex's logistics and catering businesses than its 15 duty-free outlets; the Bulgarian duty-free industry faces imminent closure as the government attempts to curb smuggling and prepares for accession to the EU.

• For further details on Bulgarian duty-free, see the January 15 issue of Duty-Free News International, out now.