Campofrio and Caroli merge

Charcuterie producer Caroli Foods, a business of Lebanese El Sohl family and European giant Campofrio Food Group, owner of the local charcuterie producer Tabco-Campofrio, have recently signed the agreement to merge the operations of the two companies into a joint venture. Caroli Foods Group, the company set up by the two players through this joint venture is worth 60 to 70 million euros, according to the estimates provided by sources close to the deal. They say the European giant paid over ten million euros to own 49% in Caroli Foods Group because the local business of Campofrio was half of Caroli's, which would have corresponded a to stake of merely 31% in the newly established company. The quoted sources did not specify whether the money brought by Campofrio would stay with the new company or go to Caroli's shareholders. This deal will put a multinational for the first time on one of the top positions among charcuterie producers on a market worth almost one billion euros, dominated by Romanian family businesses. "We had the courage to invest in Romania when no one had the courage to invest and have been the most active in terms of market consolidation," said Talal El Solh, principal shareholder and chairman of Caroli, one of the few companies to have engaged in acquisitions on the Romanian charcuterie market.