Wanted: a buyer for Arctic

Societe Generale, the Romanian Post-Privatisation Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are trying to sell their stakes in the Romanian refrigerator maker Artic Gaesti and have been looking for a buyer for quite some time now.

Artic is not doing well, financially, as the management has trouble attaining the targets for the revenue and expense budget.

Among those contacted in this respect is Slovenia-based company Gorenje, one of the most powerful home appliance regional makers.

“We have been contacted by several investment funds briefing us on Artic’s situation, but we have not addressed this issue in our Board meeting yet. We do not have an answer at the moment, as a decision is to be made soon,” Franjo Bobinac, Gorenje Group vice-president, said.

“We have two ways to enter the Romanian market: one of them is by direct exports from our Slovenia-based factory and another is by means of a local producer. We chose the former, for the time being,” Franjo Bobinac said.

Arctic is currently controlled by four institutional investors: the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) – 29.35%, Bank of Bermuda (controlled by Societe Generale) – 25.48%, the Romanian Investment Company-Cyprus (controlled by Foreign Colonial Investment Fund) – 17.61% and the Romanian Post-Privatisation Fund – 10%.

EBRD and Societe Generale have invested $20 million in Artic so far, to retool and later sell it to a strategic investor, that is a producer in the same field.