PEF V in talks to buy Macon Deva

Polish Enterprise Fund (PEF) V, managed by Enterprise Investors is in talks to buy AAC (autoclaved aerated concrete) manufacturer Macon Deva, sources on the market told ZIARUL FINANCIAR.
The financial investor is to buy all the shares in the company held by the management and the employees, in a deal calculated at roughly 35 million euros.
The takeover of the construction supplies company based in Deva would therefore be the largest investment of Enterprise Investors in Romania.
Producers in this business have become the focus of investment funds and strategic investors lately, attracted by the two-digit annual growth rates and profit margins.
Advent investment fund last year bought paint manufacturer Dufa Romania for 17-18 million euros, and Oresa Ventures took over 49% in Guzu Chim in a 9 million-euro deal.
Furthermore, Policolor (maker of paints and enamels) and Elpreco Craiova (AAC) are also controlled by investment funds.
“There is a growth of the construction sector against the growth of Gross Domestic Product, which we saw in statistics in the first part of the year. There is a need for construction supplies, and the construction sector is expected to remain as one of the main catalysts behind economic growth. I find it natural that investors would go for this sector in the medium term,” explains Lucian Perl, investment manager with Enterprise Investors, commenting on the appetite of investment funds for the construction supplies sector.
The rate of growth in the construction sector stood at 20% in the first quarter, three times higher than the average of the entire economy.
The Enterprise Investors representative would not comment on the plans for Macon Deva.
Market sources, however, say that PEF V, managed by EI, is getting ready to sign the acquisition contract for the manufacturer of AAC in the next few weeks.
Macon Deva plans to make some 3.8 million euros in net profit and an estimated turnover of 28 million euros turnover this year, which means a net margin of about 14%. It has about 700 employees.