Book contents
- The European Corporation
- The European Corporation
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Anglo-Saxon Countries
- Part II Central European Countries
- Part III Scandinavian Countries
- Part IV Mediterranean Countries
- Part V European Transition Countries
- 8 Bulgaria
- 9 Slovenia
- References
- Index
8 - Bulgaria
from Part V - European Transition Countries
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 June 2023
- The European Corporation
- The European Corporation
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Anglo-Saxon Countries
- Part II Central European Countries
- Part III Scandinavian Countries
- Part IV Mediterranean Countries
- Part V European Transition Countries
- 8 Bulgaria
- 9 Slovenia
- References
- Index
Summary
This chapter draws a picture of ownership and control change of large Bulgarian companies after the collapse of communism in 1989. Post-communist privatization has fundamentally changed the ownership landscape. First, in 2018–2019 the state was the largest shareholder in only 9% of the top 100 companies (down from 42% in the mid-1990s). The state has virtually disappeared as a direct largest shareholder of listed companies. Nevertheless, the state still remained among the key ultimate owners among the top 20 companies. Second, foreign investors have become the largest shareholders in 46% of the top 100 companies (up from 31% in the mid-1990s) and in 11.7% of listed companies (up from 6.25% in the mid-1990s).Third, there was a remarkable increase in ownership concentration in listed companies and the percentage of listed companies with dispersed ownership has declined. The destruction of large Bulgarian firms, proxied by their exit rate, was not coupled with an entry of newly established private firms into the top 100 companies. There was no sustainable development of the domestic largest shareholders. The chapter discusses potential determinants explaining the observed ownership changes.
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- The European CorporationOwnership and Control after 25 Years of Corporate Governance Reforms, pp. 209 - 236Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023