VIENNA -(Dow Jones)- The Serbian government decided Thursday to cancel Austrian industrial group A-Tec Industries AG's (Vienna:ATEC) (ATEC.VI) acquisition of state- owned Serb copper complex RTB Bor, a government spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires.
"It has been decided by the government that the Serbian Privatization Agency will cancel the contract with A-Tec and now start talks with the second-best bidder," the spokeswoman, who didn't wish to be named said. The decision was made at a government meeting Thursday in the Serb capital of Belgrade.
A-Tec had won the public tender for RTB Bor in February with a bid of $466 million, excluding a purchase price for some additional assets and investments into the company. In total, A-Tec had agreed to pay $514.1 million. Its plan for the financing of the acquisition later collapsed, after its lead credit arranger, Germany's Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) (DB) pulled out due to the international credit crunch and current political instability in Serbia.
Company Web site: www.a-tecindustries.com
-By Flemming E. Hansen, Dow Jones Newswires; +43 1 513 69 22 10; flemming.hansen@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 04-10-08 1025 Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
