Ioan Micula, one of the shareholders of the European Food & Drink group, the biggest player involved in the domestic food industry, which posted approximately 700 million euros in revenues last year, says the value of tangible assets held by the group exceeds 800 million euros.
"Then there are also the intangible assets (such as brands, which are worth several hundred million euros). The total value of the assets can only be established in a transaction," stated Ioan Micula.
The Micula brothers say that they are not taking the offers they receive from companies or investment funds seriously, because they remain motivated to continue to invest. "Not a week goes by without us receiving an offer, either for the distillery or for the beer, water and soft drinks factory," added Ioan Micula.
The two owners of European Food & Drink have ruled out the possibility of an investment fund as a shareholder, although they could consider the floatation of the group on the Stock Exchange in the coming years.
According to shareholder data, European Food & Drink made 60 million-euro EBITDA last year, while the cumulated business of European Drinks and European Food reached 410 million euros in 2006, with a net profit worth 10 million euros.
The Burger beer, a brand in the European Food portfolio, the trailblazer on the segment of PET bottled beer on the domestic market, registers annual sales of 150 million euros in Romania - around 10% of the overall sales - considering the beer market is extremely competitive, with four multinationals present.
"In addition to sales on the domestic market we also export to 20 countries, such as Italy, Spain, Greece, the Czech Republic and Germany. The value of the brewery could double (compared with the 400 million-euro estimate provided by Ioan Micula i.e.) because of its close proximity to the Hungarian border, which facilitates export to a market with almost 120 million people," Ioan Micula said. He added the new appraisal came from a London bank with which the group has had talks with for a loan.
The newest factory is located in the Sudrigiu commune and produces beer, with an annual production capacity of 500 million litres a year. "We can expand the beer capacity to more than 850 million litres, but that depends on the demand from our markets," stated Ioan Micula.
Last year, European Food & Drink got the EBRD's approval for a 250 million-euro loan, which was however put on stand-by by the shareholders. "We got offers at much better interest rates from other major banks," Viorel Micula explained.
The Micula brothers also stated that big banks are courting them and propose loans of up to 600 million euros.
The Miculas first started the business in the early '90s, after almost 7 years spent in Sweden.
The group, which has its headquarters and production facilities in Bihor on an over 100-hectare site, currently employs more than 10,000 people and has 350 products in its portfolio. Investments in this business have reached 800 million euros and stand at around 335 million euros on the segment of water and juice alone. In addition, according to shareholder data, the group has around 200 million euros in debt.
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