US Smithfield group, with $11 billion in annual turnover, has acquired, through Frigorifer Tulcea, in which it holds 50%, the stake of Transfrigotren Buftea, a company entirely held by the Lebanese businessman Mounir Halawani, one of the major domestic food industry players.
Transfrigotren Buftea is the only domestic transportation company operating frozen cargo transportation via railway. The company's assets also include a 5.5-hectare plot of land in Buftea.
Prior to the acquisition, the US group had announced it would entirely take over Agroalim Distribution and Frigorifer Tulcea companies by 2008, developed by Halawani, in which Smithfield currently holds interests of 50%.
In the wake of the deal, Transfrigotren has been added to the list of companies Smithfield will entirely take over in the next 3 years. "The acquisition will help Smithfield expand its logistics base in Romania not only due to the frigorific transportation capacities and convenient positioning of Transfrigotren, but also to the opportunity of a big warehousing complex being developed near the capital city," Mircea Ioan-Cotosman, corporate affairs director with Smithfield Romania, told ZF.
The US company's representatives chose not to provide any information on the value of the deal. Following this move, Smithfield, one of the world's biggest food companies, will have an integrated structure in Romania, including processing, production, warehousing, transportation and distribution activities. Halawani last year sold to the US group 50% in Agroalim Distribution, one of the top three food products distributors on the domestic market, and Frigorifer Tulcea, the biggest frigorific warehouse in Romania, with a capacity of 16,000 tonnes.
The deal amounted to $15 million (12 million euros), according to some market sources. Smithfield also bought, in 2004, Agrotorvis (today Smithfield Procesare) and Comtim Grup for $33 million (27 million euros).
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