BULGARIA'S BULGARTABAC TO ELECT NEW MANAGEMENT ON NOVEMBER 1

Bulgaria's tobacco group Bulgartabac will elect its new management at its general shareholders' meeting, which will take place on November 1, Trade Registry data shows.

According to the notification, the seats on group's board of directors will be taken by Bulgartabac's former head Angel Dimitrov and one of the managers at VTB Capital, Aleksander Romanov. Among the nominees are also Yavor Draganov, a financier participating in the Bulgarian Easter Initiative and an associate of former Deputy Environment Minister Lyubka Kachakova, Billla Bulgaria's financial director Ventsislav Cholakov and Miglena Hristova, owner of a car repair firm.

They will replace the current managers of Bulgartabac - Aleksander Manolev, Goergi Kostov and Ivan Bilarev.

In case of a lack of quorum, shareholders will gather again on November 15.

The state sold in late August its 79.83 per cent stake in Bulgartabac to the sole participant in the tender for the asset, Austria-registered BT Invest. The company, which agreed to pay 100.1 million euro for the company, is backed by Russian financial group VTB through its subsidiary VTB Capital.

The mastermind behind the buyer, however, is still unknown, according to Economy Minister Traicho Traikov. The minister, as well as Russian media, suggested that VTB would most likely sell Bulgartabac's owner, BT Invest, as it is banned from selling the tobacco group itself within the next five years.

Several days ago, the deal was approved by the Competition Protection Commission (CPC), but the deal it still pending completion.