Africa Israel pays 77.5m euros for Laromet

AFI Europe, part of Africa Israel Investments, the Israeli real estate group developing Cotroceni Park in the capital city, has acquired a plant in Bucharest’s sector 1 covering an area of 155,000 square metres, for which it paid 77.5m euros. Against this value, AFI Europe sealed the largest land deal on the Bucharest market, according to market consultants. The plant acquired by Africa Israel could possibly be Laromet, which is 79.57% held by the Swiss company, Trim Materials, according to on the real estate market. Laromet, which makes copper parts, owns around 19.1 hectares of land in the Bucurestii Noi area, according to the company’s annual report for 2005. However, representatives at AFI Europe have chosen not to specify the plant they have acquired. “The acquisition of the plant located in sector 1 is the biggest land transaction we’ve concluded on the Romanian market. On the site of the former plant we are going to develop a district, in fact a project that combines residential and retail space, of around 700,000 square metres (…),” Reuven Havar, Cotroceni Park CEO, told ZF.