Drujba A.D.

completed

Drujba A.D. (Drujba) is the result of the merger in April 2003 of Stind A.D. (Stind; located in Sofia) and Drujba (which originally consisted solely of a plant at Plovdiv, in southern Bulgaria), both of which have been owned by Yioula Glassworks S.A (Yioula), Greece, since their privatizations in 1997 and in 1998, respectively. In 2002, the combined sales of Drujba were Euro 46.9 million ($ 49.8 million) and net earnings amounted to Euro 5.4 million ($ 5.7 million). After the merger, the company’s share of the Bulgarian market is about 72%. The combined capacity at the two plants (after full commissioning of the new furnace in early 2004) will be approximately 264,000 tons per year. The merger of Drujba’s original Plovdiv and Stind operations aimed at more efficient production planning, better capacity utilizations, and more efficient use of management time. Although the sponsor had sought the merger several years ago it was delayed due to lengthy regulatory requirements of Bulgaria’s State Securities Commission and various other regulatory agencies. The proposed project is to refurbish and modernize the operations of an existing Bulgarian glass manufacturer, Drujba. The project involves an investment in a modern 120,000 tpy natural gas fired furnace and related production lines at the company’s plant in Plovdiv. Capacity at the company’s Sofia operation will not increase.