Carbochim’s 12-hectare plot is among the very few remaining sites where a large real estate project can be built in Cluj, as all other former industrial sites have been replaced by new office and housing developments.
In 2010, the site was valued at about EUR35 million or about EUR290 per square meter and now it could be valued at EUR500-EUR600 per square meter or EUR70 million.
The number of large projects in Cluj has decreased recently, the main problem being the shortage of land.
Carbochim has a capitalization of RON66.98 million and is 75.8% controlled by Carbo Europe Bucharest, which in turn is more than 70% owned by Iulian Dascalu. On November 26, 2021, Carbochim’s shares have recorded a 10% increase.
Carbochim’s Board of Directors convened an Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders for January and the agenda of the meeting includes the approval of the acquisition of an industrial building and the terms and conditions of the acquisition. Moreover, the approval of the relocation of the entire activity to the new building, therefore making room for a future real estate project on the site in Cluj, is also on the agenda.
Carbochim, a company founded in 1949 in Cluj-Napoca, is a manufacturer of professional abrasives, producing ceramic, bakelite, magnetic and elastic bonded abrasive bodies, abrasive cutting and deburring discs, as well as paper, cloth and non-woven abrasives, used in the manufacturing and construction industries, as well as for general and retail use. Carbochim SA has a distribution system covering all geographical areas of the country, as well as commercial ties with countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and Italy.
Iulian Dascalu, the owner of the Iulius real estate group, started betting on shopping malls at a time when Romania was just beginning to discover the concept that had already conquered markets in the West. Iulian Dascalu was one of the first investors in shopping malls in Romania.
In 2000, he opened Iulius Mall in Iasi, and later went on to develop a portfolio of four malls under the Iulius brand (Iasi, Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca and Suceava), the multifunctional Palas Iasi complex, the Iulius Town mixed-use project in Timisoara and 146,200 square meters of office space. In 2017, private equity firm Atterbury Europe bought into the Iulius Mall network and the Iulius Town project.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)