Polish food and drink giant Maspex Group has acquired Romania-listed Pucari Wineries through a voluntary takeover bid.
The transaction was valued at 604m lei ($136m).
Maspex bought the business through its Romanian leg Maspex Romania, which took a 1.6% stake in Pucari in March.
Upon completing the deal, Maspex, which owns brands like Żubrówka and Soplica vodka, will hold a controlling 72.8% stake in Pucari.
Krzysztof Pawiński, the CEO of Maspex, said the acquisition was "in line with our strategy of regional expansion and strengthening our presence in the alcoholic beverages sector, by investing in recognized brands with a rich tradition and a strong position."
He added: "Purcari Wineries, as a leading producer of premium wines in Central and Eastern Europe, represents an ideal complement to the Maspex Group's portfolio. Our goal is to further develop Purcari as a strong player, able to compete effectively on international markets".
Pucari is one of the largest wine businesses in central and eastern Europe. It manages the wineries Château Purcari and Domeniile Cuza in Moldova, Crama Ceptura in Romania and Angel's Estate in Bulgaria. It also produces brandy from the Moldovan Bardar distillery.
The Wadowice-headquartered company first indicated it wanted to buy Moldova-headquartered Pucari in May.
Romania's financial market watchdog granted the group the green light to acquire the business in June.
Grzegorz Grabowski, general manager of Maspex's Romanian arm, added: “This will be the fourth acquisition of the Maspex Group in Romania. Our vision is to further develop the Purcari Wineries operations by capitalising on the numerous operational, strategic and market synergies, such as increasing the export potential of the Purcari wineries in Moldova, Romania and Bulgaria, by capitalizing on Maspex’s strong distribution network.
"The current management has done an excellent job building one of the most important wine brands in the region and positioning Purcari as a strong and recognized player in the premium wine segment.”
In 2024, Pucari recorded revenue of 382.5m lei, up 3% on the year prior.
The company booked an EBITDA of 107.4m lei, which rose 7% on 2023. Net profit was down 10% at 57.4m lei. The group highlighted one-off costs in the period related to the discontinuation of its waste-recycling business.
Pucari, which owns over 1,450ha of vineyards, predicted its revenue would increase 12-17% in 2025.
In its first quarter of 2025, the business saw revenue rise 12% to 91.1m lei. EBITDA grew 3% to 23.9m lei, while net profit dipped 17% to 9m lei.
