The FINANCIAL — The EBRD is providing a €10 million loan to Calihory Group, one of Romania’s leading retailers and suppliers of pharmaceuticals, to finance the expansion and refurbishment of the company’s network and the construction of a new warehouse.
The loan will support the company to upgrade and expand its operations and increase its capacity. Legal advice was provided by the law firm RTPR Allen & Overy, according to EBRD.
The new warehouse will support the development of the Group’s wholesale business which will lead to a diversification of its operations. Under the project the company will also provide enhanced work-learning opportunities for Romanian pharmacists.
The Calihory Group is formed of the company Siepcofar S.A., the third-largest pharmaceutical retailer in Romania operating under the DONA brand, and DONA Logistica S.R.L., the logistics arm of the Group. DONA had 284 pharmacies in Romania and revenues of almost €200 million as of December 2016.
Matteo Patrone, EBRD Director, Regional Head for Romania and Bulgaria, said: “We are very pleased to support the Calihory Group in implementing its expansion plans. We trust that this cooperation will contribute to the growth of the pharmaceutical value chain in Romania and will help boost the development of an efficient distribution network.”
Eugen Banciu, DONA President, added: “We are delighted to cooperate with the EBRD as we continue to expand our storage capacity, to provide profitable trading conditions to our franchise and independent partners, to increase our retail network and to upgrade our DONA pharmacies using the new concept. DONA is the only group in the Romanian pharmaceutical market with entirely domestic capital, selected by the EBRD to share a long-term commitment to the Romanian economy.”
The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Romania. It focuses on promoting stability and expanding products in the financial sector, on strengthening infrastructure through improved efficiency and greater private sector involvement, as well as on restructuring the power sector and increasing energy efficiency and sustainability.
The Bank has invested close to €7.5 billion in the country to date in almost 400 projects.
Discussion about this post