Bloomberg reported that RHI AG, the Austrian maker of fire proofing ceramics, is interested in Magnohrom, Serbia’s sole basic refractory product manufacturer.
Privatization Agency chief Mr Vladislav Cvetkovic said that “RHI informed us about their interest in Magnohrom.”
The agency is trying to find new owners at least for parts of the company, which in March 2011 restarted production of basic magnesia products used in steel, cement, and glass industries, after idling for four years. While Magnohrom was first sold to Mr Pramod Mittal’s Global Steel Holdings Limited in 2006, the contract was canceled in 2007 after Global Steel failed to invest, revive production and reach agreement with workers as pledged under the contracts.
Ms Elke Koch, a spokeswoman for RHI in Vienna, said that “RHI is looking into a number of acquisition opportunities including in Serbia. As a rule we do not comment on projects that may be of interest to us prior to agreement being reached.”
Austria’s WirtschaftsBlatt reported on February 28th 2012 that RHI may buy a mid sized competitor in Serbia before the end of the second quarter, citing an unidentified person at the company.
According to the Privatization Agency’s records, Serbia sold nearly 2,400 firms over the past decade as it tried to transform once socially owned enterprises into private companies, hoping private ownership will improve their performance. The agency canceled 630 sale contracts in the same period as investors failed to live up to agreed terms of sale.
The government is now trying to find new partners to save jobs and make sure people get paid in an economy where unemployment rate is already 24.4% and average wages are less than EUR 350 per month.
Prime Minister Mr Mirko Cvetkovic’s cabinet, facing re election by early May 2012, has seen its popularity sink as economy slows and foreign demand for its exports weakens amid the sovereign debt crisis in the euro area.
Source – Bloomberg
