EFG Eurobank yesterday denied a media report that a French bank had reached a deal to acquire a stake. “Eurobank categorically denies a report that a foreign bank will buy a stake, and that it is in talks to sell shares or find a strategic partner,” a Eurobank spokesman told Reuters. Local website Reporter.gr had said BNP Paribas was about to acquire a 20 percent stake in Eurobank. The bank added in a stock market filing later: “We note that we have denied a similar report in October 2005. The question logically arises as to where these rumors originate and what purpose they serve.” (Reuters)

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria has halted exports of poultry meat, eggs and live birds to the European Union due to an outbreak of the highly contagious Newcastle disease, the Agriculture Ministry said yesterday. Although the virus causes, at worst, only minor illness in humans, it spreads quickly and can prove fatal for poultry. Bulgaria banned the issuing of veterinary certificates required by the EU for imports of poultry and related products after detecting the disease in a southeastern village near the border with Greece. “Following the detection of an outbreak of Newcastle disease in the village of Gabrene, the chief veterinarian banned the issuance of the relevant veterinary certificates,” said a statement.

Greek bottler CCHBC, the world’s second-largest bottler of Coca-Cola products, said yesterday shareholders of Cyprus-based Lanitis Bros have until March 10 to accept its public offer for their company. Earlier, the board of the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) gave its approval for the acquisition. The company said the main shareholder of the Cypriot bottler, Vladimiros Lanitis, who controls 50.6 percent of the firm, has accepted CCHBC’s offer. Lanitis has the Coca-Cola bottling franchise in Cyprus and produces a range of fruit juices and dairy products. It said it has appointed auditors to assess the takeover bid. (Reuters)

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) said that US auto interiors maker Johnson Controls Inc has shown interest in building a factory in the country. According to Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls Inc, which also makes car batteries, the plant would take $35 million (28.6 million euros) to build and its sales would reach $100 million a year, government spokesman Saso Colakovski told SeeNews. FYROM is competing with Poland to attract the US company, Colakovski said. Johnson Controls should decide within three weeks, according to Skopje-based TV channel A1. (SeeNews)