December 18 (SeeNews) - Private equity fund CEECAT Capital said on Tuesday it is selling its 98.3% stake in Romanian brick producer Brikston Construction Solutions to Austria's Leier Group for an undisclosed sum.
Due to the ownership change and the experience of Leier, Brikston now has the opportunity to continue to perform in a new growth cycle, the two companies said in a joint statement.
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"Romania has been on our list for expansion and development for a long time. Based on the proven performance so far, Brikston will allow us to offer our customers in Romania a wider range of products and to maintain the high quality standards that they are used to," Leier Group CEO Michael Leier said. "We will develop our presence in Romania through continuous investments which will allow us to capture the full development potential of this country."
CEECAT Capital, a private equity fund focused on Emerging Europe and Central Asia administered by ADM Capital, acquired an 85% stake in Brikston Construction Solutions in July 2014.
"This transaction marks an important milestone in the growth of CEECAT Capital’s Emerging Europe business demonstrating our proven ability to execute sound investments, achieve strong valuation growth and realize exits in the Balkan region leaving behind a stronger and healthier business after our investment," CEECAT Capital partner Florian Huth said.
Leier operates business in the building material market, real estate, construction of machinery and molds, respectively in the field of automobile distribution. Leier Group, with a turnover exceeding 200 million euro ($227 million) per year, owns 40 production facilities in seven Central and Eastern European countries - Austria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Croatia and Ukraine.
Established in 1967 as a state owned company and privatized in 1994, Brikston serves the Romanian construction industry with a wide product portfolio consisting of hollow bricks, full bricks, facade and decorative products in various colors and dimensions. Headquartered in the eastern city of Iasi, Brikston employs 200 and has a large distribution network targeting most of Romania as well as exports to neighbouring Moldova and Ukraine. Brikston’s turnover exceeded 20 million euro in 2018.
In July, Austria's Wienerberger abandoned its plan to acquire Brikston in order to grow its Romanian business organically. CEECAT Recovery Fund agreed to sell Brikston to Wienerberger in October 2017 for an undisclosed sum.
($=0.8822 euro)