Sarantis Romania, the local branch of the Greek cosmetics distributor with the same name, which paid 6.5 million euros for the Elmiplant producer, forecasts business worth 52.3 million euros this year, with the Elmiplant brand estimated to account for 10% of it.
"In 2008, we intend to boost Sarantis' turnover by 20% and the turnover of Elmi Prodfarm (the producer of the Elmiplant brand) by 45%," said Constantin Tudorache, chief executive of Sarantis Romania. Last year, the Greek company posted a domestic business worth 39 million euros, up 20% on 2006, while Elmi Prodfarm derived turnover worth 3.8 million euros, and profit worth almost 1 million euros.
Sarantis Romania acquired the cosmetics producer in December last year for 6.5 million euros, which the founders of Elmiplant intend to invest in real estate projects. Negotiations on the acquisition contract were held in the presence of Ernst & Young Romania, IKRP Rokas & Partners Romania and a group of lawyers hired by Sarantis Greece.
"Over the last few years, we examined several companies on the Romanian market, but ultimately, the most interesting company and the one that best matched the desired business profile, was Elmiplant Prodfarm. We first made contact in August 2006, and negotiations were concluded in December 2007," says Tudorache.
The takeover of Elmi Prodfarm comes after a series of acquisitions performed by the Greek group, both in countries where it holds branches, and in Greece. "This was a growth strategy that worked very well, which we attempted to apply in Romania, too. The determining factors in our decision to buy were the growth opportunities, as well as the synergies between the two companies," adds Tudorache.
After being purchased, Elmi Prodfarm will remain a separate entity within the group, researching and developing new products, and will continue manufacturing and marketing activities, with the distribution and sales segments to be integrated into Sarantis Romania.
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