Maspex Wadowice to take over Romanian water bottler Rio Bucovina

Newsroom 13/08/2015 | 14:42

Polish food company Maspex Wadowice has signed an agreement to take over Romanian water bottler Rio Bucovina, the two companies have announced. The deal is subject to the approval of the Romanian Competition Council.

The value of the deal has not been made public. It includes the acquisition of the three bottling facilities Rio Bucovina operates as well as the Bucovina brand. The company presently has a 10 percent share of the Romanian bottled water market, according to AC Nielsen data.

Maspex Wadowice owns several juice, instant drinks and snack brands in Romania including Tymbark and La Festa and has present locally since 1996.

“We haven’t been present so far on the bottled water market and this is a growing segment. It presently represents 50 percent of the non-alcoholic market compared to the soft drinks category which represents only 10 percent. The Bucovina brand increases our competitiveness significantly and will consolidate our position locally,” said Krzysztof Pawiński, the president of the board of directors of Maspex Wadowice. He added that bottled water consumption is still at a very low level in Romania compared to other European market and this creates further growth opportunities.

The Rio Bucovina deal is the third acquisition the Polish FMCG player makes in Romania after buying the pasta brand Arnos on 2007 and the snack brands Salatini and Capollini in 2013.

Romania is the second most important market after Poland for Maspex Wadowice in terms of sales, investments and purchasing power, said company representatives.

Simona Bazavan