Wienerberger buys brick mill for 9m euros

Wienerberger Sisteme de Caramizi (Brick Systems), the Romanian subsidiary of the Austrian construction supplies group, bought a brick mill in Sibiu for 9 million euros, the representatives of the Austrian group say. The producer acquired by Wienerberger belonged to CEMA Sibiu company, sources close to the deal told Ziarul Financiar. The 9 million paid include both the price of the factory and the funds to be provided as working capital, as well as the investments in upgrading the facility. The Austrian group will therefore be able to operate through two factories on the market, i.e. the one in Sibiu and the unit based in Gura Ocnitei (near Targoviste), the latter being a greenfield-type investment worth more than 18 million euros. “We will restrict imports from Hungary to Western Romania only, and the production of the factories in Sibiu and Gura Ocnitei will be developed to cover the central and eastern Romania,” the group officials said. EBRD representatives last year announced they would provide an up to 2.3 million euro funding in form of a capital increase, so that the bank would come to hold approximately one third of the company operating the factory project in Gura Ocnitei. ZF