This move could create a new leader of the paints market, replacing Kober, the no. 1 of the past few years.
The merger has already been sent for approval to the Competition Council and after the transaction is sealed, Atlas Paints (the construction materials division of Atlas Corporation) and Fabryo Corporation will become part of the same group,” say representatives of the two companies, without specifying the future shareholding structure or the financial value of the transaction.
“The transaction will create a group of companies with complementary portfolios and brands,” says Laurentiu Ispir, investment director within Oresa Ventures investment fund, which controls Fabryo.
In terms of how complementary the two businesses are, Fabryo only has paints and textured plasters in its portfolio, while Atlas products also include adhesives and thermal-insulators.
“The shareholders and the two organizations share similar visions, values and cultures. (…) We are confident the two organizations will complement each other very well and have a lot to learn from each other in the future,” says in turn John Sitinas, an entrepreneur who also controls a 24,000 sq-m project in northern Bucharest.
Fabryo posted a turnover of 123 million lei (EUR30 million) last year, ranking second on the paints market, while the construction materials division of the Atlas group had a turnover of RON50 million (EUR11.8 million). The leader of the paints market, entrepreneur Aurel Kober, last year had a turnover of EUR39.1 million with his company.
The paints market continued to face declines last year, as well as in the first part of this year, as the residential sector shows no signs of recovery.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)