According to reports in Poland, the Polish natural gas group, Bartimpex, has acquired an 85% stake in the vodka producer, Polmos Wroclaw, for PLN64.6m (US$16.4mln/€14.5m).
Polmos Wroclaw operates a bio-ethanol production unit which is currently working at below capacity.
Under the terms of the deal as reported, Bartimpex is to invest PLN12m (US$3.1m/€2.7m) in Polmos Wroclaw if the Polish government passes a bio-fuels bill within the next 30 months. If no such bill is passed, Bartimpex will have to invest PLN2.0m in the distiller which employs 230 people and has around 3% of the Polish vodka market.
