Bulgartabac stake sale props Bulgarian bourse turnover

The sale of an over 8% stake in Bulgarian state-owned tobacco group Bulgartabac Holding boosted the turnover of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange during the week's first day of trading. In two transactions just before the end of the session over 597,000 shares of the company were sold at a price of EUR 24.75 apiece for a total BGN 15 million, marking a 0.4% on Monday.The deal fetched 88% of the bourse's turnover. The sold stock equals to US investment bank Morgan Stanley's holding in the company. The former consultant on Bulgartabac's privatisation become a shareholder in the tobacco manufacturer and its cigarette factory Blagoevgrad BT in the middle of 2008. All Bulgarian share indices gained ground on Monday. The SOFIX index, which tracks the 15 largest companies on the bourse, closed in positive territory, adding 0.81% to 351.56 points. (Dnevnik)