Swiss group Omya buys Romanian chemicals importer and distributor Stera Chemicals

Stera Chemicals, one of the largest importers and distributors of raw materials for the chemical industry in Romania will be acquired by Omya Group, one of the main global producers of industrial materials and a chemical products distributor, based in  Switzerland.

The Romanian business, controlled by Romanian Alecsandru Rasidescu posted a turnover of RON 117 million last year. Founded by Rasidescu in 1999, is currently the fourth player on the local market, after the German detergent manufacturer Dalli, the Unilever consumer goods producer Anglo-Dutch Unilever and the Italian company Fater, jointly owned by Procter & Gamble and the Italian company Tenimenti Angelini.

Stera Chemicals will be taken over by Omya AG and Tunica AG, both of the Omya group. The Omya Group is already present on the Romanian market through Omya Calcita S.R.L., a calcium carbonate producer, which posted last year RON 82.4 million turnover and a net profit of RON 5.1 million, and employs around 50 staff. Omya, formerly formerly known as Pluss-Staufer AG, was founded in 1884 and is based in Oftringen, Switzerland.

With over 3,430 employees, Omya is one of the largest family business in Switzerland, with annual revenues of around USD 4 billion, with 175 factories spread over 50 countries. Based in Jilava, Ilfov, Stera Chemicals posted last year a profit of RON 2.4 million.