British American Tobacco has withdrawn from the privatisation bidding for the former Bulgarian tobacco monopoly Bulgartabac for what it said were commercial and strategic reasons.

“We have always said that we will take a look at any acquisition opportunities, but having seen the information memorandum, and evaluated Bulgartabac in detail, we have concluded is not a good  fit for British American Tobacco, " the company said in a statement.
Withdrawal of BAT leaves BT Invest, an investment fund based in Austria that is backed by Russian bank VTB, as sole bidder. (ci)