Renaissance Capital, a CIS investment bank, recently announced that Advent had won a tender to buy a controlling stake in Rosynka.
Advent International, a global equity firm with U.S. roots, has won a tender to purchase a major Ukrainian producer of soft drinks, mineral water and low-alcohol beverages in a deal estimated by insiders to be worth around $55 million.
The Kyiv-based Rosynka plant, which boasts a 10 percent share of the Ukrainian drinks market, has been the subject of media reports of a dog fight between initial investors for control of the facility, which as early as last year was owned by the workforce.
Renaissance Capital, a CIS investment bank, recently announced that Advent had won a tender to buy a controlling stake in Rosynka on Feb. 14, beating out 25 other potential buyers from Russia, Ukraine and Europe.
Renaissance, which served as the financial advisor in the purchase, said the tender had run from the beginning of this year and that a purchase agreement was expected within the next two months.
Sources close to the deal said Advent is to purchase a 100 percent stake in the beverage plant for around $55 million and will probably resell it somewhere down the road.
The marketing department at Rosynka, which was launched in 1960 and now produces brands under the Rosynka, Capri-Sonne and Sofia Kyivskaya brands, said the plant enjoys around 10 percent of the overall non-alcoholic drinks market in Ukraine, exporting up to 5 percent of its products to the CIS, North America, Europe and the Middle East.
Its main competitors in Ukraine include Coca-Cola, IDS, owner of the Mirgorodska brand, Biola and Obolon.
In addition to the Kyiv-based facility, Rosynka’s assets include an additional plant in Yevpatoriya, Crimea, with smaller production capabilities.
Overall, the company boasts around 600 employees and six production lines.
Last year, Rosynka produced 14.5 million deciliters of drinks, a 4-percent increase over 2005. Net sales for 2006 totaled around $37 million, 12 percent up from the previous year.
Sources said Rosynka is currently 45 percent owned by Kyiv-based investment firm Tekt Group, itself controlled by businessman Vadym Gryb. The rest of company stock is largely controlled by Andriy Ivanov, a member of the Kyiv City Council.
Michael Maltzoff, founding partner of Dnieper Capital, another Ukrainian investment firm, said it was his firm that brought Ivanov in as an investor and spearheaded Rosynka’s transformation into a joint stock company.
He said that Dnieper capital had been asked for assistance by Rosynka’s management in thwarting what it perceived as a hostile takeover by Tekt Group in May 2006, when the beverage plant was still considered the property of the work force.
“We offered [Tekt’s] Gryb a compromise and a chance to make even more money,” said Maltzoff, a French citizen.
Gryb denied any attempt at a hostile takeover and said the details of the transaction were distorted by media reports.
Rosynka’s employees were paid five times the nominal value of their state-allotted stakes in the plant, he said.
Gryb also dismissed concerns that Rosynka might be resold by Advent International at a mark up later on down the road.
“What is the difference? A buyer comes along, assesses the risk and decides whether to invest his money into its future development or not.”
“It’s all the better for the plant, as investors know better where to put their money,” he said.
Advent International boasts a presence in 13 countries across the globe, including Hungary, Poland and Romania.
Since 1990, Advent has “invested in over 120 European companies, representing a combined enterprise value in excess of 10 billion euros,” according to the company’s web site.
Advent claims to have launched its first investment program in Central Europe in 1994.“We focus on later-stage investments, backing established, successful operations with strong projected growth – either in local or international markets,” Advent says on its website.
