Novalić and the Government boast, but FDS was not bought by BAT, but by a phantom company from Vienna

The Government of FBiH today sold 39.9% of the shares of Fabrika duhana Sarajevo (FDS) to the company CID Adriatic Investments GmbH (CID), but it was pompously announced that the buyer of FDS shares was British American Tobacco, writes the Patria News Agency.

Following the successful completion of CID's takeover bid for the remaining FDS shares, British American Tobacco will enter into exclusive negotiations with CID Adriatic Investments GmbH regarding the possible acquisition of part of FDS's tobacco business.

- Any agreement on the acquisition of part of the tobacco business will be subject to due diligence, as well as obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals, British American Tobacco announced.

Therefore, it is clear that BAT has not yet entered the BiH market, no matter how much Prime Minister Fadil Novalić tried to announce the operations of a giant company in BiH. However, it is very interesting to look at what this CID Adriatic Investments GmbH is, whose fund it is, and how it operates.

CID Adriatic Investments GmbH is a "company" founded in Vienna in May of this year, and it has only two employees. The director is Walther Alexander, a name that appears in 38 companies in Vienna, most of which are at the same address.

He was also discussed in the Austrian Parliament and was linked to a major scandal in Italy involving suspicious transactions.

In a conversation with the Patria News Agency, he requested questions in writing, but we have not yet received answers. Whether this is a fictitious company backed by people from BiH will be revealed over time, and when and if BAT starts negotiations for the purchase of FDS.

Halil Čengić, president of the association "Dividenda", pointed out that the shares were sold at an extremely low price.

- That is an extremely low price for everything the buyer is getting. And that CID Fund is a separate story. Who is behind it, I think it is those who already own 10 percent of the shares, and they know who they are - stated Čengić, who added that the real price of FDS will be revealed when and if British American Tobacco enters into negotiations for the purchase of part of FDS.