Romanian star Simona Halep's sponsors pay EUR 107 mln for stake in aluminum producer

Dragos Paval (opening photo) and Adrian Paval, two of Romania’s richest and the owners of the biggest do-it-yourself retailer in the country – Dedeman, bought a 23% stake in Alro Slatina, the biggest aluminum producer in South-Eastern Europe. Dedeman, which is fully owned by the Paval brothers, is one of the biggest sponsors of Romanian tennis star Simona Halep, the current number one in the WTA ranking of the best women's tennis players in the world. The two investors made the purchase through their investment vehicle Paval Holding and paid over EUR 106 million for the whole stake, this being their biggest acquisition on the Bucharest Stock Exchange so far. Dragos and Adrian Paval also own significant stakes in several big energy companies controlled by the state, including 5.56% of electricity carrier Transelectrica, 5.77% of electricity distributor Electrica, and 7.4% of oil pipe operator Conpet. They also control local brick producer Cemacon, which is also listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. In August this year, the two investors also bought one of the biggest office projects in Bucharest – The Bridge, in a deal estimated at EUR 150 to 200 million. The Bridge will have a total office area of 80,000 sqm when finalized. Brothers Dragos and Adrian Paval, who were born in a village in the North-Eastern Romania county of Suceava, set up the Dedeman construction materials retail network in 1992 and, over the last 26 years, have turned it into the leader of the local DIY market and one of the strongest local groups in Romania. In 2017, Dedeman recorded a turnover of EUR 1.38 billion and a net profit of EUR 195 million. Aluminum producer Alro is controlled by Vimetco, a company registered in the Netherlands and owned by Russian investor Vitaliy Machitski. Vimetco and its affiliate company Conef sold a 34% stake in Alro through an accelerated book build (ABB) transaction on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, on Wednesday, December 19, for EUR 155 million. Vimetco still holds a 54% stake in the company after the deal. editor@romania-insider.com (Photo source: Inquam Photos / Ovidiu Micsik)