Empower Capital and Uneeda Industries Sell Their Minority Stakes in Cremio to Its Executive Director

Empower Capital and Uneeda Industries Sell Their Minority Stakes in Cremio to Its Executive Director

SORTIS Invest advised Global Cream Investments on the acquisition of the minority share in Cremio, a cream and dairy producer in Bulgaria under the brands My Day and Cremio. Two years after acquiring Codap Bulgaria with funding from Empower Capital and Uneeda Industries amounting to €6 M, the company controlled by Cremio’s executive director bought out the remaining share of Cremio held by the financial investors.

The current transaction completes a process that started in 2015 with the emergence of financial problems of the Italian cream maker Co.Da.P Cola Dairy Products Spa, the parent company of Codap Bulgaria, which motivated the management of the Bulgarian entity to implement a management buyout of the company in Bulgaria in order to preserve the business, as well as the jobs of more than 130 employees. With the support of SORTIS Invest, Empower and Uneeda were brought in to provide financial support to management for the purchase. The €6M financing was provided in the form of a mezzanine loan, which was fully refinanced eight months later, again with the assistance of SORTIS Invest, while financial investors retained a share of slightly over 43.6%.

Two years later, at the end of 2017, SORTIS Invest advised Cremio’s management for attracting funding and acquiring the minority shares of Empower and Uneeda. Following the transaction, Global Cream Investments already owns 100% of Cremio’s capital. The Chairman of SORTIS Group, Mr. Martin Paev, CFA, was elected for Chairman of Cremio’s Board of Directors, and Mr. Dimcho Dimitrov, Director at SORTIS Invest, was invited to join the Board as a Member as well.

Legal adviser to the buyer in connection with the transaction was Dimitrova and Partners law firm. As of today, Cremio has sales in over 30 countries, as well as a 15-year history in the family of large companies in the sector, such as Germany’s Meggle and Italy’s Codap. Company’s best-selling products include whipping and cooking cream, coffee cream and creamer, and pasteurized fresh milk. In 2017, Cremio’s revenues amounted to nearly BGN 50 M (ca. €25 M), which represents a 25% growth over the previous year. Share of export is growing to 62%, with Romania, Greece, Turkey, and Ukraine among the largest international markets.

 

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