Frigoglass today announces that it has reached an agreement for the purchase of a majority stake in the Istanbul-based SFA Soutma Sanayi ve D Ticaret A., from its main shareholders. The completion of this agreement is subject to regulatory approval from the Turkish authorities.
SFA is one of the leading exporting suppliers of ICMs in the region with a particularly strong presence in the brewery, dairy and juice segments. 2008 Sales are expected to be around euros 50 million.
Frigoglass will be acquiring up to 86% of the company?s equity for a net consideration of approximately euros 50 million (including debt but excluding acquisition costs). The transaction is expected to be EPS accretive during the first full year of consolidation. The remaining shares of the company will continue to be held by AHT* by mutual consent, given the shared opportunities that both parties believe exist through developing this partnership.
Petros Diamantides, Managing Director of Frigoglass, commented ?We are delighted to announce this latest expansion of our geographic footprint in Turkey which is in line with our strategy of entering new markets where attractive growth potential exists. SFA has been successful in developing a blue-chip customer portfolio across different segments through an exciting range of products. We would be focusing on further enhancing the relationship with the new SFA accounts and of course, extending our collaboration with existing ones. The production facilities in Turkey further provide an excellent base for the promising markets of Central Asia and the Near East that we would be pursuing.
* AHT Cooling Systems Gmbh (www.aht.at) is a leading global manufacturer of plug-in refrigeration and freezer equipment for supermarkets based in Austria.