Kubo accounts for 4% of the local EUR150 million ice cream market and is held by several local entrepreneurs.
“We are looking for a business partner, but I cannot give you any more details until we sign,” says Florin Rosescu, one of the shareholders.
This is not the first attempt to sell Kubo Ice Cream, which was valued at EUR20 million in 2008. Its owners were negotiating the sale with a private equity firm at the time, according to information available then. The deal fell through, and the entire mergers and acquisitions market only started showing signs of recovery in 2015 when Kubo was put up for sale again.
The company ended last year with 27.5 million lei (EUR6 million) revenue, lower than in 2014. Last year was also its second in the red, when it posted RON2 million loss. Market sources say the Kubo Ice Cream is looking for a buyer because of the hardships it is going through, pressured by debt to banks. The company’s debt stood at almost RON20 million at the end of last year, according to Finance Ministry data, lower than the RON22.5 million at the end of 2014.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)