S&B Industrial Minerals S.A. acquires Bulgarian Company
Bentonit AD is traded on the Sofia Stock Exchange. The sale will materialize through the Exchange within the next six weeks. EIBank is acting as an advisor and coordinator of the transaction. After the transaction has been completed, S&B Industrial Minerals S.A. and EIBank will organize a press briefing in Bulgaria.
Bentonit AD, located at the area of Kardzali (Kurdzali) in Southern Bulgaria is active in the mining, processing and sale of bentonite, zeolite and perlite based products. The company's annual processing capacity is 200,000 MT of bentonite, 50,000 MT of zeolite and 150,000 m³ of perlite. Bentonit AD owns licenses on proven reserves of 7.3 million MT of bentonite, 2.8 million MT of zeolite and 0.8 million MT of perlite.
Bentonit AD's sales in 2002 exceeded 9 million Euro while the EBIDTA reached 1.4 million Euro. Through this acquisition, S&B expands the range of bentonite qualities it already owns in Greece, Germany, Georgia and Hungary. This move will enable S&B to strengthen its presence in the cat litter and drilling bentonite product markets and expand its sales to new territories. At the same time, the acquisition enhances the Company?s penetration in the expanded perlite market of Southeastern Europe, and creates n ew opportunities in the filter aids market. Furthermore Bentonit AD's zeolite reserves and processing capabilities will facilitate the development of this product line throughout Europe.
Efthimios Vidalis, S&B's CEO stated: 'The acquisition of Bentonit AD in Bulgaria is a strategic move that will increase our presence in Southeastern Europe and CIS. We are planning to integrate the company completely so that we can develop it further and to create additional value by utilizing S&B?s Market to Mine strategy.'
S&B Industrial Minerals S.A. is a specialty minerals mining and processing company with extensive resources and significant market shares in its major products of bentonite, perlite and bauxite, as well as a palette of traded products for the glass and ceramics industries. S&B is based in Athens, Greece and owns 48 mines, plants and distribution centers in more than 15 countries in Europe, Asia and North America. S&B is the largest bentonite in Europe and the largest supplier of graded perlite worldwide. I n 2002, S&B had consolidated sales of 291,3 million Euro and earnings before taxes reached 26.2 million Euro.
For questions:
on behalf of S&B Industrial Minerals S.A. Ms. Rena Koumantou, Director, Corporate Social Responsibility & Communication, S&B Industrial Minerals S.A., tel: +30 210 3690251, fax: +30 210 3690275
on behalf of EIBANK, Sofia Mr. Danail Kamenov, Executive Director, Economic and Investment bank AD, tel. +359 2 9399 371, fax +359 2 981 38 00 Sofia and Athens, October 23, 2003