Austrian Leipnik Lundenburger Invest (LLI) controlled by the Raiffeisen group, will buy 60% in Loulis Romania from Greek Loulis International Foods, in a deal worth 50 million euros.

LLI posted 587 million euro sales last year, while Loulis Romania posted 45 million-euro sales.

The deal also includes a 60% stake in Sofia Mel, a company controlled by Loulis in Bulgaria, but the price paid for the Romanian company accounts for the better part of the transaction, Loulis representatives say.

The two parties signed a pre-contract on Tuesday, with the deal to be carried out in the first half of May.

"The talks with the Austrian group took place over the course of almost a year. This deal will allow our company to consolidate its position on the domestic market and expand on the markets of Moldova and Ukraine in the next few years," Alexandra Domocos, Loulis Romania's financial manager told ZIAURL FINANCIAR. "The takeover by LLI will benefit us in terms of procurement, compared with our competitors, and Raiffeisen will provide the financing for our plans to expand and develop the company," Domocos added.

To LLI, the entrance on the Romanian and Bulgarian markets is a major step in its strategy to expand into Eastern Europe.

"This acquisition will allow us to strengthen our leading position on the European milling market," LLI representatives stated.

LLI is one of the biggest competitors on the European milling market; the group has operations in Austria, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary. The sales of its milling division amounted to 587 million euros in the financial year of 2005/2006. The Austrian group also owns an 11.2% stake in the sugar group Agrana, which includes Agrana Romania, the main sugar producer in Romania.

Loulis Romania is one of the main producers of milling and bakery products and has a solid posit