“We want to become more familiar with the business and make changes step by step,” Topolinski says.
Aversa suspended its production in July after its asset rental contract with Industrialexport expired.
Following Aversa’s bankruptcy, the plant could no longer conduct business as usual and continued to operate by renting its assets to Industrialexport.
Aversa is the only pump maker in Romania and its products are used by energy producers and in agriculture for irrigation systems.
One of the main clients of Aversa is Nuclearelectrica, the owner of Romania’s sole nuclear plant.
Despite demand for its products, Aversa went bankrupt after recording huge losses in the past ten years due to poor management. The same thing happened to other flagship companies for the Romanian industry, such as Oltchim Ramnicu Valcea, Fortus Iasi and Tractorul Brasov.
Blue Diamond Estate, controlled by Michael Topolinski, and Autoplast Engineering, won at the end of last week the tender to for the assets of the pump maker for EUR17.3 million, VAT excluded. The transaction also includes the 10-ha plot that accommodates the Bucharest plant.
“Aversa is currently losing a lot of money and we have to invest millions of euros in order to rebalance it. We are holding talks with various foreign companies in order to attract export contracts. We are talking about big contracts, including in Turkey.”
The Canadian businessman says in the past 20 years he has bought several troubled businesses, which he restructured and then sold.
“I can say I have more experience with restructuring than with real estate,” Topolinski says.
He also took on board Autoplast Engineering for this project. The businessman says the latter has links with major potential clients on the market, who could help Aversa get back on its feet.
The new owner has committed under contract to hold on to 200 employees at Aversa for at least 3 years and says he could hire new people if market demand and conditions allow it.
Topolinski says he is analyzing the possibility of buying other companies in difficulty in Bucharest.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)