American consumer goods giant Colgate-Palmolive, the world's leading toothpaste manufacturer, yesterday bought the 24% held by Norvea Brasov in Colgate-Palmolive Romania, market sources told ZF. The Americans paid upwards of 25 million euros to increase their stake to 100% in the Romanian subsidiary.
Norvea Brasov, a company once known for its Norvea toothpaste, concluded last year with a turnover of 141,202 euros from sales of thermopane glass and other products. The deal will have a very big impact on Norvea Brasov, whose results over the past few years have been reliant on the share it held in Colgate Palmolive Romania.
Norvea Brasov, which is mainly controlled by the company's management, ended the year with 1.33 million euros in total revenues and net profit of one million euros, after collecting the dividends for its 24% in Colgate-Palmolive Romania, the data in the company's report shows.
Norvea Brasov is listed on the RASDAQ market.
The latest available data shows Norvea's main shareholders are Constantin Teodorescu (19.44%), one of the managers, followed by Ioan Georgescu and Gheorghe Ion, who are also part of Norvea's management team.
Norvea has budgeted 1.4 million-euro net profit for this year (about 5 million RON) and total revenues of 1.7 million euros (6.1 million RON).
Tuca, Zbarcea & Asociatii law firm assisted the buyer in this deal, while the Ernst & Young audit company evaluated the business to determine the value of the seller's stake. Considering the price Colgate-Palmolive Romania paid to Norvea, the value of the Colgate-Palmolive Romania company stands at more than 100 million euros.
Colgate-Palmolive Romania has yet to reveal its 2005 results. It reported a 5 million-euro net income against a 37.6 million-euro turnover and 279 employees in 2004.
When contacted by ZF, the Colgate-Palmolive Romani
