The head of Bulgaria's Corporate Commercial Bank, which is believed to finance the media group of mogul Irena Krasteva, is interested in the sale of the country's top fixed-line operator Vivacom, according to media reports. Tsvetan Vassilev stands behind two of the four bids for the company, previously known as BTC, local Trud daily reported, citing well informed insiders. Vassilev recently triggered a fierce controversy after being surprisingly named the Bulgarian businessman with greatest contribution to the country's economy. Bulgaria's Corporate Commercial Bank holds nearly half of the money of strategic state-owned companies, it emerged in the middle of last year under pressure from the media. The eighteen companies listed include the Bulgarian energy holding and its units (gas monopoly Bulgargas, gas pipeline operator Bulgartransgas, state power utility NEK, nuclear power plant Kozloduy, thermal power plant Maritsa East II), as well as tobacco monopoly Bulgartabac, Bulgaria Posts, Sofia Airport, the Bulgarian Railways Company. The head of the bank Tsvetan Vassilev and Irena Krasteva, a media mogul, recently turned out to be the secret players behind the foreign investors Towercom and Hannu Pro, which won Bulgaria's shady DTT deals. Austria's ORS also participated in the contests, but was forced to drop out because it is a major shareholder in the Austrian national television ORF. At the end of August this year a 50% stake in Bulgaria's radio and television broadcasting unit NURTS was sold to Cyprus-based international financial investor Mancelord Limited. The deal price was a whopping EUR 57 M. Mancelord Limited is represented in Bulgaria by Bromak Ltd., majority shareholder in Bulgaria's Corporate Commercial Bank Ltd. Bromak also holds a stake in the media group of mogul Irena Krasteva. Vassilev's name was also linked to the privatization of the country's state tobacco giant Bulgartabac Holding. Vivacom dominates the fixed-line segment with 2.9 million phone lines, which accounts for 97% of the market, but it has been losing customers at an alarming rate in recent years, due to the spread of mobile communications and alternative telecoms in the country. US insurance giant AIG bought 90% of the company's shares in August 2007 for EUR 1,4 B, later launching an offer to buy out the remaining shares. Dubai-based Oger Telecom was the closest to taking over the management of Bulgaria's top fixed-line operator Vivacom following negotiations that have dragged on for nearly half a year. The deal however failed because the final offer was not satisfactory, according to insiders.