Bosnia aluminium bids
SARAJEVO (Reuters) – The privatization agency of Bosnia’s Muslim-Croat Federation said yesterday that three firms made binding bids to buy an 88 percent stake in Bosnia’s sole aluminium smelter, Aluminij Mostar. The companies are Swiss-based commodities trader Glencore International AG in a consortium with a Croatian and a local firm, Britain’s En+ Group, and Greek metals, energy and engineering group Mytilineos, it said in a statement. The minimum price for the 88 percent stake, equally owned by the federation government and small shareholders, was set at 76.8 million euros. The privatization agency did not provide details about the bids and said it would rank them by October 9. It said that London-listed miner Vedanta Resources was the only company which along with the three bidding firms had completed one-month due diligence in Aluminij Mostar but failed to bid for the stake. A consortium of Lithuanian UKIO Bank Investment Group and Poland’s Aluminium Konin-Impexmetal, who earlier complained about not being short-listed, also sent in an offer but the agency said it did not meet the conditions. The best bidder will have to invest -150 million in the company over a three-year period, keep Aluminij’s present work force and create 150 new jobs. The sale of the aluminium smelter, the country’s biggest exporter, is expected to boost the country’s powerhouse metals sector, doubling the firm’s output and creating a trickle-down effect to small producers, analysts said. The company last year recorded output of 120,000 tons and has begun preparations for the construction of a new plant with a capacity of a further 130,000 tons.
