Equest Balkan Properties sold its City Center Sofia big-box shopping centre to U.S. real estate investment management firm Heitman for 101.5 mln euro, Dow Jones news agency reported.

The deal was announced on September 19 and should be wrapped up in November.

Equest bought the shopping mall off-plan some two years ago. It paid 94 mln euro to the seller, Stroytown, affiliated to Roumen Gaitanski, Sofia’s former waste collection concessionaire.

In December 2007 the mall was evaluated at 99.5 mln euro, Equest’s official statement reads.

The new owner will pay out a 64 mln euro mortgage debt and a further 37.5 mln euro in cash upon finalizing the contract. The proceeds will finance other projects and bank loans.

Heitman European Property Partners III acquires Lerma BV, which holds 100 pct in CCS’s owner, local company Auriga.

Sources told Dnevnik daily that the U.S. company is eyeing other projects in Bulgaria as well. One of them is Mall Stara Zagora in the central town of the same name. The shopping centre should open doors next week.

Heitman is headquartered in Chicago and operates in the USA and Europe. It has a portfolio worth $22.8 bln.

Meanwhile, Equest said it will pump 45 mln euro into the construction of a retail park in neighbouring Romania. The development will rise on an 8.0 ha land plot over the next 18 months. Equest inaugurated its first Romanian retail park, Vitanis, two days ago. The project was acquired in end-2006 and expanded by a 30 mln euro investment bringing the total to 60 mln euro. It has accommodated outlets of French retailer Carrefour, local electronics retailer Technomarket and German DIY retailer Praktiker.

(Dnevnik)

The Bulgarian Stock Exchange caught a whiff of optimism from the global markets at the end of its heaviest session so far in the year.

On Friday, the blue chip SOFIX edged up 1.7 pct closing at 853.75 points.

The broader BGREIT was up 2.17 pct to 106.86 pct.

Dnevnik 20 of the biggest and most liquid companies on the BSE enjoyed the biggest increase leaping 4.5 pct to 108.92 points.

The turnover added up to 4.5 mln levs but the deals on the unregulated market boosted the total to 68.5 mln levs.

The world’s leading stock markets were buoyed up by the U.S. Government’s plans to set up a gigantic mortgage-related assets management fund. The news lifted the smaller stock exchanges over the world as well.

“The uptrend is unlikely to continue in the coming days,” commented Ivan Ovcharov, broker with Elana Trading. He explained that the positive news coming from abroad had a short-lived impact on early trading and then volumes subsided.

Some of the most liquid stocks, such as industrial conglomerate Chimimport and car batteries maker Monbat, gained a healthy 5.0 pct. Lead and zinc smelter OCK swooshed up over 11 pct.

Others resisted the festive mood with fuel distributor Petrol losing 4.76 pct to 8.0 levs a share.

Sparky Eltos, the local power tools maker, dropped more than 7.0 pct to 6.0 levs.

In spite of Friday’s optimism, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange dove to record low levels last week. Both SOFIX and BG40 plummeted 11 pct in five days as Dnevnik 20 slid back near issue value.

The bourse’s market capitalization shrank to 17.1 bln levs.

(Dnevnik)

Mobiltel, the leading mobile operator in Bulgaria, will kick on Tuesday a franchise and representatives campaign across the country, the company said.

The campaign labeled M-Tel Partners is aimed at promoting entrepreneurship. The new shops will be designed by British company Checkland Kindleysides, which has created interior solutions for Rolls-Royce, Vodafone and Levis, to name but a few.

The two projects are a continuation of the partnerships with Handy, Technopolis and M World the carrier started over the last three years.

Mobiltel’s closest rival, Greek OTE’s local wireless unit Globul, also expands its network on franchise contracts. In April the operator started looking for partners for smaller areas of the country. The candidates were required to have their own retail space and a capital of 30,000 levs.

(Dnevnik)

Fitch Ratings revised First Investment Bank's (FIBank) outlook to negative from stable and affirmed its other ratings at Long-term Issuer Default (IDR) 'BB-' (BB minus), Short-term IDR 'B', Individual 'D', Support '5' and Support Rating Floor 'No Floor'.

The outlook change reflects the challenges that FIBank is facing in the current market environment in terms of attracting new long-term funding and capital at an acceptable cost and refinancing its existing obligations in full. As a result, FIBank's prospects in terms of both profitability and market share could well be negatively impacted.

"In the event that FIBank is unable to refinance its existing obligations in full, consisting primarily of a 185 mln euro one-year syndicated loan and/or attract new funding and capital on suitable terms, the bank will be unable, or at the very least severely limited, in its ability to grow its balance sheet", says Lindsey Liddell, Director in Fitch's Financial Institutions Department.

FIBank's ratings reflect the bank's good franchise, diversified customer deposit base, acceptable risk management framework and solid fee income. Additionally, asset quality ratios remain acceptable and market risk is limited.

(Dnevnik)

Sigma Consulting, the new owner of Cigarette Factory Plovdiv, will keep the company’s core business and launch new cigarette brands, the company said in its buyout offer to minority shareholders.

Sigma plans to resume the production of tobacco items and gradually increase the capacities’ workload. The profit will not be distributed as dividend but reinvested.

In July Sigma Consulting acquired 78 pct of the factory from tobacco monopoly Bulgartabac. The company was sold together with its cigarette production licence but the holding company retained ownership over the brands.

Sigma offered minority shareholders to pay 36.60 levs per stock. Orders are accepted from September 23 to October 17 at the offices of the investment brokerage of the deal, Sofia International Securities.

Sigma Consulting paid 30.8 mln levs to acquire the majority stake in the cigarette plant. The company deals with sugar and sugar products and is affiliated with wine maker Vinprom Peshtera and local businessman Georgi Gergov.

Gergov has told Dnevnik that Sigma Consulting was co-created by himself and the Vinprom Peshtera group to bid for the Stochna Gara train station in Plovdiv.

(Dnevnik)

Residential property developer Bulgarian Land Development (BLD) said it has put up for sale its holiday projects Riverland in the western ski resort of Borovets and July Morning in Kavarna, on the northernmost Black Sea coast.

The fund is pressed to sale by shareholders demanding bigger profits and better return on equity, BLD executive director Dimitar Savov explained adding that the projects have attracted prospect buyers from Russia and the Middle East.

BLD raised its 40 mln GBP capital on the alternative segment of the London Stock Exchange. Its portfolio comprises nine office, holiday and urban projects.

BLD posted revenues of 115,000 GBP and a pre-tax loss of 187,000 GBP for 2007.

The July Morning project will go up in a couple of stages, the first set to deliver 351 one- and two-room flats, maisonettes and studios on a 9.5 hectares plot. The complex will have three swimming pools, indoor and outdoor sports facilities, a tennis court, a spa centre, shops and eateries. Prices range between 43,000 and 100,000 euro depending on size and location.

The Riverland mountain complex will sprout on a 5.6 ha land plot near the ski resort of Borovets. It will feature ten home buildings with four types of flats now up for grabs off-plan.

(Dnevnik)

German DIY store Praktiker will unveil at least five more stores in Bulgaria by 2011, the manager of the company’s Bulgarian operations, Reiner Vitka, told a news conference marking the chain’s fourth anniversary on the market.

Praktiker has so far invested nearly 60 mln euro in its eight Bulgarian units in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Pleven, Veliko Tarnovo, Ruse, Burgas and Stara Zagora.

In line with its new strategy, Praktiker will open smaller stores in smaller populated areas. Until now, it opted mostly for towns with population of over 200,000. This is the strategy adopted by other major chains on the market including Austrian Billa and local electronics retailer Technopolis.

Praktiker is a key player in the Bulgarian DIY segment, where it competes with Mr. Bricolage. Austria's bauMax is the third international player there and is expected to step up market presence in the coming years.

Praktiker’s sales in Bulgaria surged nearly 50 pct to 68.1 mln euro in the first half of 2008 from the year-ago period. The company says it holds almost 10 pct of the market.

(Dnevnik)