Aldis wooed by several investment funds

“This week we were visited by Spanish investment fund officials. There have also been others, from and , but we are not interested in a sale at this time. A price has not been discussed,” said Naghi for Business Standard.

With €80 million in net sales in 2006 and a daily production of some 100 tons of meat and meat products, Aldis Calarasi is one of the main players on this market.

Domestic cold meats production has risen to approximately 200,000 tons, the total value of the market reaching about €700 million, according to data supplied by employer associations. Aldis’ main competitors are Cris-Tim, Campofrio and Angst.

Naghi says the Romanian market is interesting for foreign investors, due to increases in the past few years. Aldis registered a 10 percent increase in net sales in the first few months of 2007 year-on-year, and net sales in 2007 are forecast to soar by some 30 percent to €100 million.

The company plans to make investments this year worth €20 million, of which €15 million are allocated for agriculture and animal husbandry, and the remaining €5 million will be used to expand production capacity. Aldis owns several animal farms in Calarasi County and 3,000 hectares of farming land. The company was founded in 1991 as a family business owned by the Naghi family.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the consumption of pork per capita estimated for 2006 reached 43.2 kilos a year in EU-25, while consumption in five former communist states, including , and , amounted to 33.1 kg per capita, compared to 18.1 kg in .