Metair confirmed the purchase Thursday, saying it is one of its “strategic acquisitions in the aftermarket sector where it can take advantage of its technological expertise and balance sheet.”
The transaction had a price of roughly EUR43 million.
Rombat is a company controlled by about 200 employees, and the most important shareholder is Dorel Goia, who owns almost 19%, according to the latest information available.
On a local automotive component market dominated by world giants such as Delphi, Continental, Schaeffler and Autoliv, Rombat was the last large Romanian-owned business. Its revenue continued to increase during the crisis, and the company set almost EUR83 million as 2012 sales target, an increase of 12% on 2011.
The net profitability margin of the company stood at 5.2% to 10.1% from 2006 through 2010, according to the Finance Ministry data, which show Rombat generated cumulated net profits of EUR20 million in five years.
Rombat supplies batteries to the Renault group, to the Peugeot plant in Slovakia and to the Nissan plant in Sankt Petersburg, Russia. It is also the only supplier of batteries for the Dacia cars made in Mioveni (south of Romania).
Under the circumstances, more than two thirds of the company’s output is exported. It had contracts signed with customers in countries as far away as South Africa and Lebanon. This year, it plans to manufacture almost 2.5 million car batteries.
Dorel Goia is one of the most powerful entrepreneurs in Transilvania, and has partnered at times with Horia Ciorcila, chairman of Banca Transilvania, together with whom he sold a several million euro plot of land to Bacau-based do-it-yourself company Dedeman in 2010. He is also one of the shareholders of pipe maker PVC Teraplast Bistrita, whose annual revenue stands at EUR50 million.
Metair, whose annual revenue amounts to almost EUR400 million, is a group of companies that makes car batteries, air conditioning systems, wiring and lights. The South African company was assisted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and by law firm D&B David si Baias.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)