Cora buys industrial platform to build store in Brasov

French hypermarket chain Cora will build a store in Brasov, on the premises of the existing Hidromecanica Brasov factory, which has been recently sold by the Brasov General Finances Unit. Cora has paid EUR 13 million for the 40,000 sqm land plot, at a price of EUR 325 per sqm. The Finance Unit has sold the platform to recover some of the state debt Hidromecanica has. The industrial platform is located downtown Brasov. Hidromecanica has been privatized twice so far. In 2001 it was bought by a local firm Alexandre & Co SRL from Brasov, but ended up in failure, so it was sold in 2005 to Romanian businessman Alexandru Garbacea, which used to hold 50.9 percent of the shares. Another major shareholder is SIF Transilvania, with 45.21 percent. Another former industrial platform in Brasov, Tractorul Brasov, will host an Auchan hypermarket in 2011. Cora runs three stores in Bucharest and one in Cluj – Napoca. Another opening is scheduled for Craiova, within Adora Mall, and a second one in Drobeta Turnu Severin in 2011.