Date Target Vendor Investor Size Comment
May 10 A stake in Germanos Phone accessory retailer Germanos Mobile operator Cosmote EUR 500m Germanos has around 330 outlets in Greece and another 600 in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Macedonia and Ukraine, with plans to expand in Turkey and Serbia this year. It offers products from Cosmote, Vodafone Greece and TIM Hellas.
May 8 Equity investments in Southeastern European countries Private equity fund Royalton Partners II The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) EUR 50m The pipeline will include usinesses in non-tradable sectors.
May 8 Environment protection project Devnya power plant Bulgarian soda ash producer Solvay Sodi EUR 70m A portion of the investment has already been deployed. Full absorption is seen by 2008 when the plant will face tighter environmental protection standards.The company intends to seek the approval of its shareholders to allocate 90 mln euro to boost the capacity of the calcinated soda plant in Devnya.
May 8 Purchase of 72.51% stake Bulgaria's West East Bank Slovenia's largest bank by assets, Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) N/A West East Bank is the yongest bank on the market in Bulgaria, with total assets of EUR 54m.
May 8 Building 40 hypermarkets Bulgaria (in four cities) German do-it-yourself chain OBI EUR 300m Austria's bauMAX, another home decor and garden retailer, has also announced plans to step on the Bulgarian market and intends to built some 15 hypermarkets.
May 5 Amusement park Veliko Tarnovo Municipality Italian manufacturer of them park rides, Zamperla EUR 10m to EUR 15m Another infrastructure project in the pipeline is a gondola lift running between Veliko Tarnovo and the village of Arbansi at a distance of some 4 km. The cost of the 3.2 km lift facility, developed by the local representative of DoppelMayr, is seen at 4 mln euro. The Veliko Tarnovo municipality intends to create a joint venture with the future investor.
May 3 New silica sand processing plant Devnya Municipality Bulgarian mineral extracting and processing company Kaolin EUR 2.6m Kaolin, part of Alpha Finance Holding, is the regional leader in the mining, processing and logistics of various industrial minerals.
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
May 8 EU to decide next week whether Bulgaria and Romania should join the EU as planned The European Commission January 2007 is the accession date planned for the two new entrants.
May 5 Germany grants EUR 15 m to help Bulgaria develop SMEs, boost employment Bulgarian Economy Ministry EUR 10m will be used for assistance of small and medium sized entrepreneurships through the Fund for credits guaranteeing.
May 5 German rubber processing company Kraiburg Holding considering investment in Bulgaria Kraiburg Holding The company plans a EUR 15m investment in a rubber-mixing facility.
May 4 Czech CEZ signs EUR 346m deal to buy Bulgarian power plant Czech utility CEZ The acquisition of the 1,260-MW coal-fired Varna plant will increase CEZ Group production capacity by 10%.
May 3 EBRD to secure EUR55 m for energy efficiency projects in Bulgaria The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) This week the EBRD also said it has extended a EUR 10m credit line to Bulgaria's SG Expressbank for lending to small and medium-sized enterprises. SG Expressbank is a major SME lender.
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

Irish fund investment in Mall of Sofia

Investor: Irish real estate and investment advisory group Quinlan Private
Project: Purchase of 50% stake in Bulgarian shopping and entertainment centre Mall of Sofia
Price: EUR 90m

In September 2005, a consortium led by GE bought a 50% stake in the mall development for approximately EUR 37 m from a joint venture partnership established by AVIV, an Israeli property development company, and CCI, an Israel-based cinema operator, to develop the Mall of Sofia.
The 78,000 sq m shopping center will have a 12-screen Cineplex, an IMAX theater, restaurants, a food court as well as 10,000 sq m of office space. Among the more high-profile tenants that will open flagship outlets in the mall are international sports goods retailer Intersport, Polish coffee chain coffeeheaven and Varna-based food retailer Piccadilly.
The Mall of Sofia, which is due to open on May 30, is fully occupied and will deliver a yield of around 9.25%.

Showcase of important issues, deals, and events.
With the contribution of Rivas
May 10, 2006