Serbia said on 9 October 2008 that it has invited bids for its glass manufacturing company, Industrija Stakla Pancevo (ISP), without setting a minimum price.
Interested bidders face a 19 December 200…
Serbia said on 9 October 2008 that it has invited bids for its glass manufacturing company, Industrija Stakla Pancevo (ISP), without setting a minimum price. Interested bidders face a 19 December 2008 deadline to submit binding offers for a majority stake, the government“s Privatisation Agency said in a statement. Eligible bidders must be companies active in glass manufacturing or trade for the past three years with a minimum revenue of EUR 4.0 million (USD 5.5 million) in 2007. Investors with minimum active capital of EUR 20 million or EUR 8.0 million revenue in 2007 may also apply. It is the third time Serbia has attempted to sell ISP after the failure of two previous tenders in which Greece“s Yioula Glassworks was the sole bidder. The first tender for the sale of the Serbian glass manufacturer failed in February 2006 after Yioula“s offer was declared invalid because the Greek company did not bid for the whole stake. The second failed in September 2008 when Yioula chose not to sign the sales contract and the commission in charge of the privatisation declared the tender void. It gave no reason why Yioula withdrew from the deal and did not reveal the size of the Greek company“s offer. The company, one of the oldest glass makers in southeast Europe and located in Serbia“s northern town of Pancevo, cut its net loss to EUR 2.0 million in 2007, from EUR 3.3 million in 2006. ISP, set up in 1930, has two subsidiaries: Specijalna Stakla, which produces glass, and Trispan, which sells glass.