$11bn US company in Iasi

An international merger resulted in a new owner for Iasi-based Unirea SA edible oil factory – the foodstuffs giant Bunge Ltd. (US).
Bunge, which registers $11bn turnover and employs 24,000 people worldwide is the leader of the international bottled edible oil market.
The American company bought the controlling interests in Cereol SA, Unirea Iasi’s main shareholder in late last year and has big plans for the Romanian company, Unirea representatives say. “The American company is planning to grow in Romania and Eastern Europe,” chief operating officer Robert Arsene says. According to Arsene, it is too soon to provide further details about Bunge’s project in Romania, though. The company is the largest soy producer in North and South America and the leading fertilisers supplier in the US. The acquisition of Cereol SA has also turned Bunge into one of the largest oleaginous seed processor due to its over 34 million tonnes in productive capacity.
Unirea SA posted approximately $46.3 million turnover last year, 15% more than in 2001. Netherlands-based Cereol Holding BV increased interest in the producer in Iasi last year, coming to hold 81%. Cereol had previously held 61.4% in Unirea SA, a stake increased by a public purchasing offer. Cereol came to Iasi in 1999, with the company held by employees until then. Unirea was established in 1960 as a producer of edible oil, hydrogenated oil, margarine and lecithin. The company produces the Floriol and Unisol edible oils, as well as the Unirea halvah. Surveys mentioned by the company manager show the two edible oil brands to have jointly accounted for 28% market share last year. The other players on the market are Argus Constanta with Argus – 20%, Topway with Untdelemn de la Bunica, Solio and Allegria – 17% and Muntenia Bucharest – 4%. The edible oil market totalled more than $250 million last year, Arsene added. The company official estimated the domestic edible oil consumption to be about the same as in 2002, without any spectacular moves expected.