“The deal whereby Bunge took over the vegetable oil plant of Prio Foods has been recently approved by the Competition Council. It is worth more than EUR50 million,” the sources said.
Ziarul Financiar reported about this deal as early as March, when talks were in an advanced stage, quoting market sources that said negotiations were on the finishing strait.
The deal is an unexpected move considering Prio Food’s plant in Lehliu Gara opened just last year after a EUR93 million investment.
The agreement between Bunge and Prio is the first deal in the local vegetable oil industry in two years after Swiss-held Alimenta sold Expur to France’s Sofiproteol.
US group Bunge already had a plant in Buzau, which it bought from Agricover in 2007. This takeover will turn it into the only major producer to own two vegetable oil plants on the local market.
It is not yet clear whether the plant in Buzau will continue to operate or will be closed. The deal enables Bunge to consolidate its leading position on the vegetable oil market in Romania, where it posted EUR327 million in revenue last year, down 12% on the year.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)