Major Bulgarian Credit Rating Agencies Announce Merger

Bulgaria’s “Global Ratings” and “National Credit Rating Agency” (NCRA) have signed a merger agreement.

The merger deal was sealed in the last days of May 2010, and the newly-established “Agency for Credit Ratings and Analyses” is to be listed with the Bulgarian Registry Agency.

Once the process is completed, the new entity will occupy about 50% of the Bulgarian credit ratings market. The Agency for Credit Ratings and Analyses (ACRA) combines the five-year experience of Global Ratings and NCRA, the two merging companies have pointed out.

The equity will be divided between the shareholders of Global Ratings and NCRA. Elana Holding and Sofconsulting are the majority owners of the former, whereas “Business Advisory Group” is the majority shareholder of the latter.

The new ACRA will have two executive directors – formerly the CEOs of Global Ratings – Vanya Vasileva – and of NCRA – Radoslav Stoyanov.

The new agency will have over 60 active clients in various business sectors in Bulgaria, including public entities, financial and corporate institutions. The NCRA has experience in the credit rating of various trade companies, whereas Global Ratings has specialized in a portfolio of banks and municipalities.

“The consolidation of the expertise and the reputation of two leading rating agencies will contribute to the further establishment of the credit rating as a crucial factor of trust in the business and institutions in Bulgaria. The merging of our two established teams will lead to greater cost efficiency in this specialized business which requires constant investment in information and expertise in order to maintain a high level of professionalism,” said Vanya Vasileva, a CEO of the newly founded Agency for Credit Ratings and Analyses.

“An increasing number of companies and municipalities are becoming convinced of the benefits of maintaining a credit rating and the forecasts are that the demand for this service will increase after 2010. Credit rating is especially important in the process of financing businesses and institutions. The new economic situation and the future development of the economy necessitate much more profound arguments when seeking funding, which will invariably entail the regular sustaining of a credit rating,” explained Radoslav Stoyanov, the other CEO of ACRA.

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