Date Target Vendor Investor Size Comment
January 30 Investment fund Romania, Bulgaria and ex-Yugoslavia Poland-based private equity firm Innova Capital EUR 175-200 m The fund will invest in industry and services for business including telecommunications, finances and media sector firms. Innova was part of the consortium that bought MobilTel, Bulgaria's biggest wireless carrier, before it was taken over by its current owner, Telekom Austria.
January 30 Commercial, entertainment, office, and logistics project N/A (in Plovdiv Municipality) Israeli SGS Construction EUR 300 m The project will have a 30,000 sq m mall, 80,000 sq m recreation and entertainment center, 80,000 sq m of office premises, and an adjacent 200,000 sq m logistics center. The 250-acre parcel in Plovdiv cost was EUR 12 m.
January 30 Development of 4 real estate projects Sofia Municipality Multinational real estate company Cohen Group N/A Multinational real estate company Cohen Group bought the local CSKA basketball club.Cohen Group also intends to build a 9,000-seat sports hall that will be managed by Vienna-based Golden Mayer Group.
January 25 Renovation to accommodate larger ships Burgas Municipality Bulgaria's Black Sea port of Burgas EUR 10.2m The entire project costs some EUR 22 m and is to be completed in 2007. The port is implementing a large-scale long term investment programme worth some EUR 113.8 m.
January 25 Bond issue Sopharma N/A EUR 5 m Sopharma net profit rose by 71.1% last year to EUR 17.6, as revenue increased by 27.5%.
Deals, contracts, tenders and outsourcing for a total value of more than BGN 2 mln. and projects of strategic interest to Bulgaria
With the contribution of SeeNews (published by AII Data Processing Ltd) and Rivas
GOVERNMENT AND EU | REAL ESTATE AND FINANCE | EU TOPICS
Date Subject Institution Comment
January 31 EU provides EUR 9 m for quality certification Media Small Bulgarian businesses undergoing ISO and HACCP certification will be eligible for financing under 2 grant schemes made available by EU's Phare program.
January 30 Greek Global Finance to have EUR 300m SEEurope buyout fund ready by March Global Finance Global Finance has so far invested in more than 50 companies in 10 countries, with an accumulated acquisition value of over $300 m.The company acquired in Bulgaria frozen potatoes producer and wholesaler Royal Potatoes and Onda Coffee Break chain of coffee shops and sold stakes in snack food producer Chipita Bulgaria and mobile operator Mobiltel in 2005.
January 28 Sea resort water park up for sale Zlatni Pyastsi AD Aquapolis aquapark price is estimated at EUR 3 m.The potential buyer will also have to agree to pay loans of EUR 3.1 m that Zlatni Pyasatsi has drawn to build the aquapark.
January 27 Copenhagen Airports concession deal winner Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) The deal is EUR 526 m for concession on two airports on the Black Sea coast.
News and events important for investors related to the Bulgarian legislation, government and EU policy, financial and real estate sectors.
With the contribution of SeeNews (published by AII Data Processing Ltd) and Rivas

Hewlett-Packard will create 1000 jobs in Bulgaria in 2006-2007

Hewlett-Packard, the world's number two computer maker, chose Bulgaria among 14 European countries for the establishment of its new Global Delivery Support Center employing 1,000 IT professionals in Sofia to service HP customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Project: The support center in Bulgaria will be a part of the global network of services and customer support sections of Hewlett-Packard. Countries like India, China, Costa Rica and Slovakia are already a part of this network. The centers provide IT support to companies, perform diagnostics of critical IT systems and assist client services teams at second and third level support.
Site: 10,000 sqm premises on the territory of Business Park Sofia
Timeline:
• Start of location analysis: June 2005
• Decision announced: January 2006
• Start of operations: June 2006
• Competitors for the project: Romania, Slovakia and Russia
• Reasons to choose Bulgaria: economic and financial stability, availability of qualified and multilingual IT specialists, institutional support and competitive incentives package
Partners: Ajilon and SITEL

Mr. Pavel Ezekiev, Executive Director of InvestBulgaria Agency: “InvestBulgaria Agency ensured the institutional and administrative support of the project of HP, presenting the company with access to the labor market and academic institutions. The Bulgarian Government also authorized a set of incentives. The decision of Hewlett-Packard to choose Bulgaria demonstrates the competitiveness of Bulgaria as an attractive outsourcing destination for leading IT industry players, who value highly the combination of niche skills, stable environment and flexibility”.
Showcase of important issues, deals, and events.
With the contribution of Rivas
February 1, 2006