Petru Ciurtin and his brother Raul, owners of the majority stake in Alba-Iulia Albalact dairy producer, are likely to receive at least 30m euros should they decide to sell the 48.5% stake in stock they hold in the company in the first half of this year.
Albalact's market capitalisation currently stands at over 60m euros, but stock market investors expect the future buyers to pay a control premium that is likely to raise the price for the sale of the majority stake. Still, if the value of Albalact, Fulga and Zuzu brands were to be added, the takeover of Alba-based dairy producer could get close to that of LaDorna group, put at over 80m euros, which was acquired in 2008 by French Lactalis group.
Industry sources state Albalact owners are asking a very high price for the sale of the stake they own, adding that French giant Lactalis and Müller Dairy Romania, the domestic subsidiary of the German group of the same name, are the contenders left in the race for Albalact.
Albalact stock (ALBZ) added 9.5% in the first hour of the Tuesday trading session on the Bucharest Stock Exchange after information emerged Ciurtin family is in talks to sell Albalact.
"I do not wish to comment. I'll stick to my previous statements," stated Raul Ciurtin, chairman and one of the shareholders in the company with turnover worth above 50m euros. Ciurtin repeatedly stated he did not rule out an exit from Albalact, but mentioned that would happen when he got a "very good offer", without providing any further details.
The main minority shareholder in the company is Reconstruction Capital 2 (RC2) investment fund, listed on the London Stock Exchange, which has accumulated around 25% in Albalact through acquisitions on RASDAQ over the past two years. The fund's manager, Ion Florescu, chose not to comment on the information regarding a possible sale.
The dairy market
