US investment fund New Century Holdings (NCH), managed locally by NCH Advisors, sold the leading Romanian baker Vel Pitar to Mexican multinational bakery group Grupo Bimbo.

"The shares of Vel Pitar SA were sold to the Bimbo group. [...] For the NCH Romania team, this was its 27th highly successful exit [...] placing the NCH Romania team in the top 1% worldwide in terms of IRR long-term," NCH Advisors confirmed. Ziarul Financiar estimates the deal at EUR 200 mln.

In 2021 (latest available data), Vel Pitar reported RON 586.2 mln (EUR 120 mln) in revenues and a net profit of RON 68.5 mln, with over 1,900 employees.

Vel Pitar was formed in 2001-2002 through the merger of four NCH-owned companies with operations in bakery, milling and retail, and subsequent restructuring of the assets by business line. The milling operations were placed under Sapte Spice company, which was not taken over by Bimbo and remains in NCH's portfolio.

Vel Pitar is a major player in Romania in branded baked goods, including bread and bread specialities. From over ten production sites with state-of-the-art technology, it serves supermarkets, hypermarkets and small and medium-sized shops through its distribution system across Romania.

Mexican group Bimbo, active since 1943, is one of the most important global players with operations in 33 countries in America, Europe, Asia and Africa and 197 bakeries, with an annual business of about USD 15 billion. In Europe, it is also active in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Great Britain, Russia, Switzerland and Ukraine.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Evgeniy_p | Dreamstime.com)