IMPERIAL TOBACCO GROUP SHOWS INTEREST IN BULGARIA
One of the leading tobacco companies in the world, the British Imperial Tobacco Group plans to expand to new markets through the acquisition of smaller companies.
Bulgaria and Turkey were getting ready for the privatisation of their cigarette producing companies, Imperial Tobacco Group managing director Gareth Davies said during an interview for Bloomberg.
During the privatisation procedure for Bulgaria’s Bulgartabac Holding in 2004 the British company was among the three candidates, Dnevnik newspaper reported.
British American Tobacco reached the final stage of negotiations but due to the long procedure the company quit.
Imperial Tobacco also announced plans to sell its production for the first time in the US. The main reason behind the decision was the decreased consumption in the UK and the smaller number of administrative hindrances in the US.
American smoked seven per cent of the overall cigarettes production and were responsible for 30 per cent of the revenue of tobacco companies, Dnevnik reported.
