The Bulgarian Stock Exchange in Sofia (BSE) yesterday completed a closed auction to sell 34.78% of the Bulgarian Telecommunication Company (BTC). 2,854,282 shares were sold, leaving only a further 14,969 shares to be sold today.
The auction of the 35% government-owned stake follows the sale of a 65 % strategic stake in BTC last year for Euros 280 million in cash to Viva Ventures, an international investment group led by Advent International.
“Preliminary information indicates that the number of BTC shareholders now exceeds 1,000,” says Miroslav Velikov, head of custody at HVB Bank Bioochim AD in Sofia. “The BTC privatisation will increase the market capitalisation substantially.”