Greenchem Romania, an AdBlue producer, part of Greenchem Holding controlled by Czech businessman and prime minister Andrej Babiš, is going to take over the assets of Romanian distribution companies Inovator Smart Choice, STD EST Logistic and AD Complex Logis, according to Economica.net, citing the competition body’s approval. Babiš’ group of companies already entered Romania in 2023 by taking over integrated grain trader East Grain.

Inovator Smart Choice SRL, STD EST Logistic SRL and AD Complex Logis SRL distribute AdBlue on the Romanian market.

“The assets to be taken over concern the customer base that makes regular purchases of AdBlue from sellers based on contracts concluded with them and those contracts, as well as the customer base that places one-off orders of AdBlue from sellers. In accordance with the provisions of Competition Law, this transaction must be authorised by the Competition Council, which will evaluate it to establish its compatibility with a normal competitive environment and will issue a decision within the deadlines provided by law," the competition authority said.

Greenchem Romania SRL is wholly owned by Greenchem Holding BV, one of the largest producers and distributors of AdBlue, a diesel exhaust fluid used to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from vehicles and industrial equipment, in Europe. It also sells urea used as a raw material in the AdBlue production process. 

Greenchem is part of Agrofert Holding, a large Czech company, in fact an industrial holding with activities in several fields, and which counts 32,000 employees. The group, which has seven business divisions – and is the largest agri-food group in Europe- has an annual turnover of over EUR 8 billion.

The Agrofert holding company is owned and controlled by Czech politician and businessman Andrej Babiš, a billionaire and now Prime Minister of the Czech Republic.

This is not Agrofert’s first acquisition in Romania. In 2023, it bought the majority stake in Cluj-Napoca-based East Grain through a capital increase, the most important foreign investment in Romanian agribusiness in the last year. Then, through this company, it bought, last year, the MarAgro farm in Timiș, which cultivates a total area of ​​7,000 hectares, mainly cereals.

Also, at the end of last year, the same East Grain took over, together with a partner, the 45% majority stake held by the Hungarian group UBM in the agricultural company UBM Feed Romania, from Mureș County. UBM Feed is one of the largest feed producers in Romania.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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