Bulgaria’s Central Co-operative Bank submitted the best offer for buying a 66.67-per-cent share in Macedonia’s Post Bank, Bulgarian Dnevnik daily announced on October 9.
The announcement was made at a news conference in Skopje, attended by Macedonian media, Dnevnik reported.
The offer submitted by CCB, which is owned by the Bulgarian holding structure Chimimport, has been selected as the best one by the adviser on the sale – Deloitte & Touche. Although the exact buying price offered by CCB was not revealed, it was said to be the best among a total of six offers that made it to the final stage of the tender.
To finalise the transaction, which is expected to happen by the end of this year, CCB will only have to acquire the permission of the Macedonian central bank and the country’s regulatory bodies, and win the consent of the government in Skopje, which holds a golden part in Post Bank. The golden share gives it the power to block any important determination on the bank’s structure, capital and others.
Macedonian media announced the current majority holder of the local Post Bank – Eurostandard Bank – had chosen Deloitte to select the best buyer for its quota.
The remaining 33.33 per cent are held by state-owned Macedonian Posts. Deloitte sent inquiries to 18 banks in European Union countries, and only eight of them responded. Offers were gave by just six of the initial eight candidates, and the best was the one by CCB.
The Macedonian banking market was revolved attractive to CCB because of its potential for development and its close proximity to Bulgaria.