Competition Council approves transaction between Unilever and Betty Ice

Unilever announced that the Romanian Competition Council approved the agreement for Betty Ice on the basis of its commitments, making Betty Ice became the newest member of the Unilever family.

The Betty Ice Company was founded in 1994 by Romanian entrepreneur Vasile Armenean and has become the most important local ice cream producer in Romania with a total turnover of EUR 30 million.

The company owns a factory in Suceava and has over 180 ice cream kiosks open during the summer. Betty Ice has 760 employees in Romania. The ice cream division of Unilever Romania and Betty Ice will work together, combining Unilever’s global vision and capabilities with Betty Ice’s expertise and know-how.

Vasile Armenean, founder of Betty Ice, will continue to lead this business as the general manager of the company.

”The acquisition is complete and we are glad to welcome Betty Ice to our family. The changes we have agreed with the Competition Council will have an impact on our business, but our mission is to serve our customers, so we will respect the decision and focus on our sustainable growth plan. Our goal is to offer top quality ice cream to every Romanian,” said James Simmons, managing director of Unilever South Central Europe.

Unilever announced that it is willing to withdraw between 3,000 and 5,500 freezer cabinets in the Unilever or Betty Ice partners’ premises, to get the approval from the Competition Council.

The proposed measure is to be maintained for the 2019 and 2020 ice cream seasons. Unilever estimates that the withdrawal of the number of freezers by the Competition Council will result in a 3-8 percent reduction in the combined market share of Unilever and Betty Ice on the segment of the frozen impetus (cornet and stick) traded through the traditional channel, reducing this market share around the 40 percent threshold, as calculated by the Competition Council and reported at the level of 2017.