Gramex Drinks sponsors in bilateral talks with strategic suitors

Vendors ARX Equity and Structured Capital are working towards a transaction but have no strict timeline for completing the process, which is guided by DLA Piper Business Advisory, the sources said.

Several local strategic players have expressed interest in the company, but the shareholders are still evaluating their bids against other alternatives for the company's development, one of the sources said without providing further details.

Last April, Mergermarket reported that the shareholders of Gramex Drinks had launched an auction for the company.

Budapest-based Gramex posted USD 24.1m revenue and had 96 employees in 2020, according to Dun & Bradstreet data.

ARX Equity Partners, Franklin Templeton Investments' private equity arm Darby Private Equity, and food industry executive Gerard Lenihan bought Gramex for an undisclosed amount in February 2014. Structured Capital Partners, established in January 2021, manages the Central and Southeast European private debt and equity funds formerly managed by Franklin Templeton.

Gramex Drinks, established by local entrepreneur Janos Greczi in 2000, specialises in contract packing and manufacturing for juice-drink brands, and produces the Vitalade sports drink line and a fruit syrup line under the Sconto brand. It runs a production facility in the town of Veresegyhaz, near Budapest.

Gramex Drinks, ARX Equity Partners, Structured Capital Partners and DLA Piper Business Advisory did not return requests for comment.

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