6% of Zarea Bucharest stock sold

Wine producer Karom Drinks sold a 6% stake in the stock of Zarea Bucharest to a Polish investor, Dabrowiecki Henryk, for about 3 billion ROL (73,000 euros). "I do not know who this investor is. I sold the stake because I needed money," explained Emil Popescu, the general manager of Karom Drinks, whose majority shareholder is the German sparkling wine producer Schloss Wachenheim, one of the largest producers in this domain. Wine industry sources say the Polish investor that took over the 6% stake in Karom is an associate of Schloss Wachenheim in Poland, where the German producer owns the companies Centru Wina and Ambra. Early in the year, Karom Drinks took over a 44.5% stake in Zarea Bucharest for about 900,000 euros, following the former company's subscription to a public purchase offer. Fol lowing this transaction, Karom Drinks consolidated its position as second on the sparkling wine market, climbing from an 18% market share to 26%. ZF