Grup Feroviar Român (GFR) (Romanian Railroad Group), a company owned by the "Grampet Group" corporation, controlled by businessman Gruia Stoica, is interested in the privatization of the Bulgarian railroad freight company. On Monday, GFR bought, on its own behalf, the tender book for the privatization of "BDZ Cargo" of Bulgaria, according to a press release sent to the editors, which states: "Grup Feroviar Român is currently reviewing these privatization documents, as well as the impact which the privatization will have on GFR - < Grampet Group >".
By the deadline, nine companies had acquired the documents for the privatization of BDZ, as announced yesterday by the Agency for Privatization of Bulgaria, quoted by Novinite, in turn quoted by Mediafax. Nine Bulgarian companies were among the buyers of the tender book - "First Investment Bank", "Bulgarian Ship Company" and "Bulgarian Railway Company".
At the end of December 2012, the Bulgarian press announced that, at the time, there were seven investors interested in acquiring the freight division of BDZ, including Russian state owned company RZD and GFR.
At the time, RZD requested an extension of the deadline for submitting tender offers, because the holidays had delayed the preparation of the documents needed for the procedure.
In November last year, the Bulgarian privatization agency restarted the call for tenders for the freight division of BDZ, after the first attempt to sell it failed. Only strategic investors and from the financial sector are allowed to participate In the second call for tenders.
The minimum asking price for BDZ was cut to 100 million leva (51 million Euros) from 200 million leva (102 million Euros), in the first privatization attempt.
The freight division is the only profitable department of BDZ, and the money earned from the privatization would be used to cov
