Privatization of Zastava Trucks – written offers instead of tenders

Announced privatization, i.e. tender sale of Zastava TRucks (one of three biggest and the most important Zastava’s companies), is escorted by contradictory information. The Privatization Agency confirmed that the invitation tender for sale of Zastava Trucks would not be announced.

The Agency says that the preparations for restructuring of Zastava Trucks are underway. That means that the company will be divided into several production-business units that will be offered for auction sale.

Zastava Trucks was already restructured (in Summer 2001) when, on the basis of the program of the Government of Serbia, the first phase of transformation and consolidation of former Zastava Group was realized. On that occasion, the company was not divided into independent production-business units, but several hundreds of workers were dismissed.

The management of Zastava Trucks, however, points out that the invitation tender for sale of companies will be definitely announced at the end of this or at the beginning of the following months and that, according to their information, several foreign companies are interested in procurement of the company.

Commenting on the opposing information related to forthcoming change in ownership structure in Zastava Trucks, Nemanja Miljković from consulting company Citadel, which is in charge of privatization of companies from the Zastava Vozila Group (Zastava Vehicles), says that Zastava Trucks is in the group of companies which will be sold through public collecting of written offers. That has some elements of tender, but it is not a classical tender. All 100% of the assets in that company will be offered for sale. Zastava owns 56%, whereas Italian Iveco holds property over remaining 34%. Iveco has already agreed on sale of its share in that company, but everybody still wait for that company’s decision on minimal selling price. That answer should arrive at the beggining of September and it will be followed by the announcement of public invitation of collecting of written offers for procurement of Zastava Trucks. Privatization of Zastava Trucks should take place two months after the announcedment of invitation for collecting of written offers.