THE BRATISLAVA municipality is selling its 7-percent stake in the shipping company Slovenská Plavba a Prístavy (Slovak Shipping and Ports - SPaP) to its majority owner, Budamar Transport Limited, for €800,000. Bratislava municipal deputies voted for the sale in late March, the Sme daily reported.
Several deputies expected higher proceeds from the transaction, in the range of €1 million to €4.5 million, due to the undistributed €14 million profit that the company has maintained. The Bratislava municipality claims that the selling price is close to two experts’ estimates, which neared €700,000.
The Bratislava municipality was required to first offer the stake to the remaining SPaP shareholders, and Budamar responded positively. The municipality recalled that it has no profits or benefits from SPaP as it does not have the power to decide over the payment of dividends and it allegedly has not seen any dividends for years.
