RO distress assets manager ROCA takes over troubled port operator

ROCA, a Romanian investment and management platform that invests in distressed companies, announced the takeover of the port operator Romcargo Maritim, a company that manages 90% of the maritime flows of passenger and commercial vehicles in Romania, working for brands such as Dacia, Renault, Ford, and Mitsubishi.

This is ROCA’s fifth deal on the local market. Romcargo Maritim is currently in insolvency, which makes this deal a challenging one for ROCA.

"The fifth transaction of the ROCA platform is a real challenge. We have concentrated our experience so far and have entered an area that we consider strategic for Romania. This is a logistics company and not any logistics company but a port operator,” said Rudolf Vizental, ROCA CEO.

The investment platform aims to take advantage of Romania’s strategic geographical position and the underused potential of the trade flows between Europe and Asia.

“We bet on the success of this investment and on getting the company out of insolvency shortly,” Vizental added.

Romcargo Maritim manages 8.5 hectares in the Constanta Port. Last year, 154,000 cars passed through this terminal and the number is expected to grow to 175,000 this year. The company had a turnover of EUR 2.7 million and 90 employees in 2018, according to official data from the Finance Ministry.

(Photo courtesy of company)