ATHENS – Greece has received six initial bids for the lease of a smelting plant operated by debt-laden Larco, one the world's biggest nicker producers, the country's privatisation agency HRADF said on Monday.
The deadline for the submission of non-binding bids for the Larymna smelting plant and related mining rights expired at 15:00 GMT on Monday.
Commodity & Mining Insight Ireland, a consortium of GEK TERNA with Swiss-based AD Holdings, Mytilineos , Solway Investment Group, Tharisa and Trafigura Group have expressed interest, HRADF said.
Larco, which is 55% owned by HRADF, was liquidated last year, following a decision by a European Court which said Greece had failed to recover €135.8-million of illegal state aid to the company.
Last year, a special administrator was appointed to sell some of its other assets - mines, plots of land and other property - in a separate tender. The deadline for the expression of interest in that process expires on February 2.
The preferred investor in one of the tenders will have a right to outbid rival offers in the other tender under a shoot-out clause. Greece aims to have the process concluded by July.