Two domestic companies have expressed interest in acquisition of an iodine chemistry plant and a chlorine production unit within that plant, both of which are situated in the Krusevac-based chemical industry Zupa.
As representative of the company’s capital Miroljub Milojevic told Beta agency on Friday, representatives of potential buyers have recently visited the plan and talked with representatives of the Privatization Agency.
The management of Zupa has sent a proposal to the Agency for announcement of a public invitation for sale of individual factories and formation of a state-owned company from accompanying agencies to serve them.
According to that proposal, a potential buyer would buy one or more plants it is interested in without any inherited obligations, but it would have an obligation to keep all workers. The debts of plants would be repaid from the price paid for them.
– This is the first time that we talk about individual sale of Zupa’s four plants. So far, all tenders have been announced for sale of the company as a whole. We believe that this is the best way for us to attract potential investors – Milojevic assessed.
At the moment, the chlorine production unit within Zupa is in operation, while the production of pesticides is being prepared for the next sowing season. The Ministry of Economy’s grant of six million dinars that the company obtained in late 2010 has been spent on procurement of raw materials for production of xanthate for the needs of Mining Smelter Basin (RTB) Bor and payment of health insurance taxes for about 470 employees.
So far, 110 workers have applied for a voluntary leave from the company with a severance pay on the basis of a social programme for 150 employees, which has been approved by the Government of Serbia.
The agreement on sale of Zupa was terminated in late 2005 and was followed by three unsuccessful attempts to sell that company on a tender.
Source Ekapija.com
