BRUSSELS, Sept. 18, 2001 (paperloop.com) - ECO-Invest, the owner of Slovakian hygiene paper producers, Harmanecké papierne and Slavošovske papierne, is close to acquiring a tissue company in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Negotiations with Banja Luka-based Celex, which kicked off in February, are well advanced and a deal could be signed within the next two or three weeks, an ECO-Invest spokesman said. "Celex has the potential to produce about 50, 000 tonnes of tissue paper and can produce handkerchiefs, napkins and toilet paper which fit perfectly into the portfolio of ECO-Invest's hygiene group," he said. The firm is currently state-owned, but is being privatized by the Bosnia-Herzegovina authorities. Early this year, ECO-Invest chairman Milan Filo told paperloop that a series of acquisitions were being considered which would create a powerhouse hygiene paper group capable of competing in wider European markets, particularly in central and south-eastern Europe. The company said the acquisition of Celex would be its first step into the strategic market of the Balkans, but declined to detail its next moves. ECO-Invest took a controlling interest in Harmanecké papierne early this year. The company remains a 50% shareholder of Severoslovenské celulózky a papierne (SCP Ruzomberok), with Neusiedler AG holding the rest. ECO-Invest also took over Slavošovske this year, after SCP sold off its interest in the firm.