Strategic Investors Pull Out of Privatization of Bulgarian Rail Freight Services

According to reports of Bulgarian Trud Daily, the participation of strategic investors in the privatization of BDZ Freight Services has been deliberately obstructed. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

All strategic investors who were initially interested in the privatization of BDZ Freight Services, the only profit-making unit of the financially ailing Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) company, have reportedly withdrawn.

According to an article published in Monday's edition of Trud daily, German Deutsche Bahn and Austrian Schenker have both given up on the deal.

Romanian railway company Grup Feroviar Roman (GFR) has also been counted out because, as Trud daily has it, will not be admitted to the privatization procedure.

The mass circulation daily claims that candidate buyers of BDZ Freight Services from Romania and Turkey have been barred from the procedure through the introduction of high qualification standards for strategic investors.

The candidates are required to prove revenues of EUR 500 M for each of the past three years.

As a result, the most serious candidate at this stage appears to be Tsvetan Vassilev, owner of Corporate Commercial Bank.

According to Trud daily, Vassilev will most likely file his bid through a company based abroad.

Meanwhile, First Investment Bank has also requested an analysis of the financial condition of BDZ Freight Services, meaning that it may also take part in the privatization process.

The two banks also competed to become managers of the housing retrofit fund under the Regional Development Operational Program.

The tender was eventually won by Corporate Commercial Bank, who had submitted a better bid.

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