The luxury Kempinski Hotel Zografski in Sofia, Bulgaria has been sold for a price estimated at as much as $75 million, The Sofia Globe reports. Bulgaria’s Commission for Protection of Competition said it has been notified of a planned merger between Zografski, the company that owns the hotel, and Victoria Group VM.
Reports linked Victoria Group VM, a company set up earlier this month, to Plovdiv-based businessman Vetko Arabadjiev, who was also reportedly among the bidders to buy the Hilton Sofia Hotel last year, losing out to Spas Roussev.
Arabadjiev reportedly owns four hotels in the Black Sea resort of Slunchev Bryag (Sunny Beach) and the Elenite resort near Slunchev Bryag, as well as the five-star Pamporovo Hotel in the winter resort of Pamporovo and Maritsa Hotel in Plovdiv.
Kempinski Hotel Zografski has been, according to the reports, on the selling block since 2007, but the global financial crisis and the subsequent property market drop in Bulgaria have hampered the sale.