Bulgaria To Sell Off Defense Firm VMZ Sopot

The Bulgarian government on Jan. 27 said it had agreed to a strategy for the full privatization of defense giant VMZ Sopot. According to a statement, there will be a public tender of 100 percent of VMZ's capital, with potential buyers required to have previous experience in defense production and management.  They must also present a three-year business plan for the firm's development under the sale proposal, which still has to be approved by parliament. Bulgaria's biggest defense firm and the last of the country's communist-era defense giants to have remained state-owned, VMZ Sopot produces a large range of missiles and artillery ammunition, as well as civil-use machinery and household appliances. A lack of strategic investors in previous defense company tenders has led other state-owned firms to morph into joint-stock companies, owned primarily by their managers and staff. Bulgaria's defense industry exports stood at 145 million euros ($200 million) in 2009, according to economy ministry data.