Austrian group Wienerberger takes over Romanian brick manufacturer

Austrian group Wienerberger has reached an agreement with Hong Kong-based investment fund ADM Capital to take over Iasi-based brick manufacturer Brikston Construction Solution. The two parties haven’t announced the value of this deal, but sources from the mergers & acquisitions market place it at around EUR 35 million, according to M&A journal Mirsanu.ro. The deal would consolidate Wienerberger’s leading position on the local brick market. Brikston Iasi has about 200 employees and revenues of some EUR 16 million in 2016. Wienerberger has four other factories and about 300 employees in Romania. Its local turnover was over EUR 40 million in 2016, according to official data from the Finance Ministry. The Austrian group has no production facility in Romania’s Moldova region, which makes this acquisition “an excellent opportunity to expand the group’s local business,” according to Wienerberger CEO Heimo Scheuch. This is the group’s second acquisition in Romania in the last two years, after it bought a brick factory in Buzau last year from local businessman Omer Susli. ADM Capital has invested up to EUR 20 million in taking over the majority stake in Ceramica Iasi from Advent and subsequent share purchases, in 2014. editor@romania-insider.com