Romanian BIP Grup sold to UK-based IMSG

Romanian company Business Ideas Provider Grup Romania (BIP Grup), included in the ZF ranking Top 100 Businesses Built from Scratch is to be fully taken over by the British company International Marketing & Sales Group Limited (IMSG), a provider of sales and marketing services.
BIP Grup provides specialised merchandising services (arranging products on the shelves of retail chains), promotional, sales and distribution services for companies in Eastern Europe, and its shareholders are Eugen and Ioana Saulea.
Business Ideas Provider Grup Romania was set up in 2004, with a 5,000-euro investment being the main source for outsourcing merchandising, promotion and POSM distribution (Point of Sale Materials distribution) services, and reached an 840,000-euro turnover and a 420,000-euro net profit in 2006.
IMSG will take over the company’s full stake, with the company’s former owners set to handle the management of the business.
IMSG has also taken over London-based company Shared Value Limited, a capital
markets communication consultancy. The value of the transaction stands at around 3.2 million euros, paid 80% in cash and the remaining percentage through a capital increase.
“The acquisition value of the Romanian company will be calculated and paid in a manner similar to the Shared Value transaction,” the release also reads.
International Marketing & Sales Group Limited is listed on the alternative AIM market, managed by the London Stock Exchange, and operates in Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Turkey, Hungary and India, through its 20 offices.
BIP Grup provides specialised merchandising, promotion, sales and distribution services for companies in Eastern Europe, through a 7-branch network.
Tchibo Romania was the company’s first client, having outsourced both the services and its team at the time. The client portfolio now includes Coca Cola, Elite, Masterfoods, Kraft Foods, Red Bull, Colgate Palmolive, L’Oreal, Philip Morris and Interbrew, among others.