Alpha Bank seizes Ivo Prokopiev’s Economedia

A public controversy erupted on Friday between the Bulgarian unit of Greece’s Alpha Bank and the publishers of Economedia in Bulgaria, BGNES reported.

On Friday morning, it became clear that Alpha Bank took over control of the group’s publications and appointed a new CEO. According to the Trade Register, Economedia has failed to service its liabilities to the financial institution.

At the end of September, Economedia had arrears of over €430,000. The publishing group was reportedly mortgaged against a credit of €9,350,000. Among the assets pledges as collateral there are vehicles and journalistic equipment. Now, Plamen Bozhinov has been appointed CEO of Economedia.

A little later, however, Economedia expressed a surprise at the decision of Alpha Bank. “Yesterday, November 29, we learned together with everyone else following the publications in the Trade Register that the Bulgarian unit of Alpha Bank as our lender has undertaken steps for acquiring the pledged collateral and appoint a CEO of the commercial enterprise Economedia JSC. The decision of the bank comes as a surprise to us,” read the statement of the publishing group’s Board of Directors.

“We have submitted to the Trade Register undeniable facts about the inadmissibility and illegality and of the demand of Alpha Bank’s Bulgarian unit,” stated the publisher of Capital daily and the Internet site Dnevnik.bg. He vowed to oppose the attempt at Economedia’s seizure with all legislative and public means.

However, the report published on dnevnik.bg report shows, that as of to date, the company has defaulted on the principal of four loans from Alpha Bank, amounting to BGN 756,257.

Economedia is owned by Theodor Zahov (with a 49% stake) and Ivo Prokopiev (a 51% stake).

In 2006, Economedia purchased IDGBalgaria bought and added to its portfolio the Computerworld newspaper and the magazines PCWorld, Network World, and CIO. In 2007, it acquired a 60% stake in Sofia Echo Media.

From 2006 until 2010, Ivo Prokopiev, aged 42 (born in 1971) was Chairman of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIBG). After his second term as head of CEIBG expired in 2010, Prokopiev announced “he was moving with his family to Asia”.

Прочети цялата новина

Свързани новини: