The Serbian government has decided to cancel the privatization of Galenika pharmaceuticals, at the request of a committee which negotiated the sale with the Belgrade-based Galenika’s only bidder.
The model for the Galenika privatization was a strategic partnership, i.e. selling a 25 percent stake at the minimum price of EUR 7 million.
A British-Russian consortium, Frontier Pharma – Petrovax was the sole bidder, and the deal fell through over the company’s EUR 70 million debt to banks.
The British – Russian consortium of companies Frontier and Petrovax was actually the only bidder to have submitted a valid offer following the last public call for strategic partnership with Galenika. The bidders from India and Brazil failed to meet the main requirements stipulated in the Public Call – the Commission for the Implementation of the Strategic Partnership has ascertained.
The British – Russian consortium offered at least 7 million EUR for a 25% stake in the Serbian pharmaceutical company. Just like the failed bidders, the consortium planned to halve the current number of employees of 1,400.
The Belgrade-based pharmaceutical company owes another EUR160 million to the state, and the government has recommended that creditors don’t block the factory’s bank account, that is, collect their claims, until a final agreement is reached with commercial creditors, but no later than March 31, 2017.
The Ministry of the Economy has prepared a new format for the privatization of Galenika, which is expected to be released soon.
(Beta, 13.03.2017)
http://beta.rs/en/56723-government-cancels-galenika-privatization
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