PRAGUE - Nine companies have submitted bids for the state's 99 percent stake in Czech steel manufacturer Vitkovice Steel, a spokeswoman for its parent company said Friday.
Eva Kijonkova, spokeswoman for Osinek, the company through which the government holds the stake, said the bids ranged from four billion koruna (134 million euros, 179 million dollars) to seven billion koruna.
Analysts estimated earlier the government could get 4.0-4.5 billion koruna for its stake.
Kijonkova did not reveal the names of companies that submitted bids but said Mittal Steel, which had been fighting to be allowed to take part, had not placed a bid.
Mittal has been in dispute with the government over pig iron prices and says it will now try to stop the sale after a privatisation committee excluded it from participating.
Ukraine's System Capital Management confirmed it had submitted a bid for Vitkovice. "We are ready to provide sufficient investment for the further development of Vitkovice Steel," manager Igor Syry told Czech news agency CTK.
Nineteen companies had initially expressed interest in Vitkovice Steel, which is based in the eastern town of Ostrava, in January.
According to unofficial information they included Ukraine's Industrial Union of Donbass, Czech Trinecke Zelezarny, ZPA Pecky and Trafinco, Slovakia's Penta and Eco Invest, India's Essar Group, Charles Capital, Charlton, Russia's Gazmetallprojekt and Evraz Holding, Doneck Steel, Arca Capital, Bancroft Private Equity, Iran's Safa Industrial Holding, Germany's Georgsmarienhuette Holding and Ispat Polska Stal.
A privatisation commission will now assess the nine bids and then shortlist bidders for the second round. One criteria will be the bidders' business.
The key criteria in the second round will be price. The government expects to decide on a new owner in the second quarter of the year.
Mittal has complained about elimination from the tender to the European Commission. It is also demanding 350 million koruna in compensation for iron supplies from its unit VPO to Vitkovice Steel.
The state blames Mittal for an inadequate increase in prices and is asking for more than one billion koruna in compensation. The anti-trust office ruled two weeks ago that the prices were market prices.
Vitkovice Steel, which has a 1,600-strong workforce, made a pre-tax profit of 1.6 billion koruna in 2004.
03/18/2005 19:46 GMT