EBRD to become a shareholder in Agricover Holding
The EBRD and Agricover Holding have signed legal agreements today confirming the Bank's intention to become a shareholder in the Romanian agribusiness company.
2017-10-13 12:54:20
According to the agreement, the EBRD will invest 32 million RON (7 million Euro equivalent) in the company's capital for a subscription to a 13 per cent stake. The completion of the transaction is subject to statutory approvals and is expected to be finalised before the end of 2017.
Agricover Holding SA is a major player in the Romanian agricultural sector, offering agribusiness and financial services to farmers through a highly integrated and original business model centred around satisfying the essential needs of farmers. With 17 years of experience in Romanian agriculture and 850 employees, the company supports more than 4,500 farmers through its two main subsidiaries Agricover SRL and Agricover Credit IFN. In 2016, the firm reported a turnover of 1.2 billion RON.
"We are joining forces with the EBRD to accelerate our support for the development of modern agriculture in Romania," said Jabbar Kanani, President of Agricover Holding SA. "Together with the Bank we will continue to provide farmers with innovative solutions designed to enhance the performance of their farming activities."
The EBRD's investment will support the growth of one of the main locally owned Romanian companies serving farmers in all agricultural sectors. The funding will allow the firm to meet the growing financing needs of local farmers and will ensure that a larger number of small and medium-sized farms will gain access to modern technologies and markets. The company will continue to provide support to farmers working in animal husbandry and to develop its recent investment in the pork-processing business.
The EBRD is one of the largest institutional investors in Romania, having invested 7.6 billion Euro in more than 400 projects in the country. Total investment in agribusiness accounted for 10.3 billion Euro in 624 projects across the EBRD's countries of operations of which 700 million Euro for 36 projects was invested in Romania.