The transaction is subject to approval by the Romanian Competition Council. The transaction could be completed in the first half of 2018. The parties agreed not to provide details of the transaction at the moment until the procedures were completed.
"With the acquisition of Macon, Xella becomes one of the leaders of the local building materials market and the main manufacturer of AAC in Romania. Xella is becoming an important player on the lime and concrete precast elements and achieves its goal of being a leader in regional markets through strategic procurement", said Jochen Fabritius, CEO of the Xella Group.
Entreprise Investors owned the Macon Group through the Polish Enterprise Fund V and Polish Enterprise Fund VI funds.
In 2006, Enterprise Investors bought Macon from employees and former managers of the company. Two years later, the investor provided Macon with additional capital to acquire its competitor, Simcor Group, a manufacturer of construction materials active in Transylvania. Macon's management merged the two entities. At present, the company manages four production facilities in Deva, Oradea, Târgu Jiu and Vadu Crisului and is the main producer of AAC and electricity poles in the country, but also one of the most important suppliers of lime, prefabricated elements and terracotta.
The company estimates revenue of about 33 million euros in 2017. Last year, Macon's concrete prefabricated producer in Deva increased its business by over 11 percent to 27.6 million euros, while company losses halved, up to 1.6m euros. The group also includes Simcor Var, Simbeton and Simterac, and has an average of 815 employees, being one of the largest employers in the building materials industry.
Xella Romania, the local subsidiary of the Xella Group, registered a turnover of 14.2 million euros (up 18.3% over the previous year) in 2016 with 127 employees. Xella inaugurated in 2010, in Ploiesti, a production unit of BCA masonry blocks, following a greenfield investment of 32 million euros. The Xella Group was bought this year by the US investment fund Lone Star, which also holds the Globe Trade Center real estate developer in Romania. Previously, the German group was controlled by private investment companies PAI Parteners and Goldman Sach Capital Partners. (source: capital.ro)
