German sparkling wine maker Henkell&Sohlein Group at the end of last year bought Astese Production SRL, the company that makes and sells the Angelli sparkling wines on the Romanian market.
Astese officials would not disclose the value of the deal. "The information about this deal is confidential. Henkell has a keen interest in further developing the Angelli brand," the Astese officials said.
Sources close to the transaction say it amounted to $11.2 million, $1.2 million of which account for the contribution of the German producer to Astese's capital increase, and the rest account for the price it paid for the 100% stake.
Angelli is the leading player on the Romanian sparkling wine market and its market share amounts to more than 60%, the Astese officials say. The other players, however, say Angelli's market share is lower.
The sparkling wine market has been dwindling over the last few years. Besides Angelli, which makes about 5 million bottles a year, the other significant players are Panciu (some 3 million bottles a year), Jidvei, Cramele Prahova and Zarea Bucharest, about one million bottles each, as well as Simleul Silvaniei 500,000 bottles, in addition to other smaller producers.
"This seems like a good transaction for the Romanian market. Henkell has been testing the market for about nine years and finally decided to buy a well positioned producer. Henkell participated in the privatisation of Hungary's leading sparkling wine maker eight years ago," said Basil Zarnoveanu, chairman of the Romanian Association of Wine Makers and Exporters.
Astese's share capital amounts to 143bn ROL. The company was 100% held by a group of Italian investors through Swiss-based Guapa Holding SA.
"Astese posted 10 million-euro turnover last year, slightly up from the previous year. The German producer intends to make extensive investments in the development of the company," Stavre Alexandru Bucoi, Astese Production general manager told Ziarul Financiar. The company was established in 1994, is currently employing 120 people and has its own distribution network, but also sells its products through 160 distributors throughout the country.
Its offices are based in Bucharest and the production line is in Craiova, within the Banu Maracine experimental station. The first Angelli-branded products were the classic frothy wines, such as Gran Moscato (sweet) and Cuvee Imperial (semidry), later joined by Cocktail Pesca, Cocktail Fragola, Kir Royal and Cocktail Cerise.
