Unilever has agreed to reduce presence of ice cream brands in local traditional retail stores to get the greenlight from Romania’s competition watchdog for its takeover of ice cream producer Betty Ice. Unilever bought Betty Ice in a deal estimated at EUR100 million.
Betty Ice was founded in 1994 by Romanian entrepreneur Vasile Armenean and is currently the biggest local ice cream manufacturer, with a turnover of more than EUR30 million. It has a factory in Suceava, northeastern Romania, and opens over 180 ice cream kiosks during the summer. It has 760 employees in Romania.
Unilever Romania’s ice cream division and Betty Ice will operate together and Armenean will stay on as general manager of Betty Ice.