The shares held by ROCA Investments in Romcargo Maritim were recently acquired by one of Romcargo’s existing shareholders, and the profit obtained by ROCA from the transaction amounts to EUR3 million, with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 72%.
Romcargo represents the fifth investment for the private equity company – a company taken over in 2019, Romcargo returned to profit after the first year from the takeover, and after three years it has become a financially and operationally solid company, following an extensive transformation process at a commercial, operational, financial and management level. Today, Romcargo manages all important maritime imports and exports of important car brands such as Dacia or Ford. Its restructuring process was one of the most complex on the Romanian market to date.
“ROCA Investments’ model is buy and build – we invest in companies with the aim of developing them, not selling them. The development of specialized holding companies, the same time and the need to focus on strategic areas in the portfolio, however, leads to having to make choices at certain times – including the choice to sell, to allow the company to develop further (…),” said Rudolf Vizental, CEO and co-founder of ROCA Investments.
Romcargo Maritim manages over 90% of the maritime flows of passenger and commercial vehicles in Romania and operates the largest Ro-Ro terminal in the Port of Constanța. The company had a turnover of EUR3.67 million and a profit of EUR840,000 in 2022. At the time of takeover by ROCA, in 2019, Romcargo had debts of EUR2.5 million and a net loss of EUR450,000.
ROCA Investments continues the development and scaling of the existing portfolio, with a focus on the two strategic economic sectors in which it is specialized: industry, through the ROCA Industry holding, and agriculture, through the ROCA Agri RDF holding. The two holdings in the ROCA portfolio currently total 15 active companies, including some with a significant presence in Europe. A brand founded by the Impetum Group, ROCA Investments is a private equity company, with a specific majority shareholder, specialized in taking over medium-sized entrepreneurial companies and transforming them into performers in the strategic sectors in which they operate.