€15 million is the estimated cost that “Pavlidis Marble – Granite” paid for the acquisition of Dionyssomarble Bulgaria, a Sofia-based subsidiary of the “Hellenic Granite Company”. With this move, the Drama marble industry acquires the two largest quarries of limestone Vratza (limestone) in Bulgaria, with a capacity of 60,000 tonnes.
“The acquisition is part of our strategy to obtain the best quality of deposits not only within Greece but also outside the country. As a result, the company owns the Perla quarry in Albania while in northern Macedonia, near Prilep, it controls the white Dolomite SIVEC® marble through Mermeren Kombinat. Following the acquisition of Dionussosmarble Bulgaria, the company acquired Vratza limestone which has excellent decorative and technical properties and is widespread in many European, Asian and American countries”, explains the Managing Director of “Pavlidis Marble – Granite”, Mr. Christoforos Pavlidis.
Dionyssomarble Bulgaria has an annual turnover of around € 8 million, which will be consolidated with the Group’s results, with the marble industry’s performance projected to increase by 2020. In 2019, “Pavlidis Marble – Granite” reported turnover of around € 120 million, while interest on profit, tax and depreciation (Ebitda) is expected – not yet finalized – to reach € 67 million. As Mr Pavlidis explains, the acquisition further strengthens the extroversion of the dynamic marble industry, as Dionyssomarble Bulgaria, one of the largest companies in Bulgaria’s marble industry, exports 60% of its production. The Vratza (limestone) is housed in iconic buildings, such as the Leopold Museum in Vienna, the Main Opera Tower in Frankfurt, and the Gold Coast City Hotel in the Kebinski Chain in Accra, Ghana.
The company’s management is considering new acquisitions of high quality quarries and is implementing a €24 million euro investment project focused on acquiring fixed equipment and processing machinery in Drama and Prilep. Energy is one of the sectors the company wants to improve its footprint, so they are investing €40 million to develop wind farms in Serres with a capacity of 40MW. In total, including the acquisition of Dionyssomarble Bulgaria, the value of “Pavlidis Marble – Granite” investments amounts to € 79 million.
Following the acquisition of Dionyssomarble Bulgaria, the marble industry has increased its number of employees to 950, 400 of which belong to Mermeren. “Pavlidis Marble – Granite” exports 95% of its production, having, among others, the “Ariston” marble in Drama and the semi-white “Kavala” crystalline marble in Kavala. The company’s marbles are found in iconic buildings, such as Dubai’s Burj shopping mall, reflection towers in Singapore, the skyscraper at 280 New York’s Park Avenue and the Lotus skyscraper in Doha, Qatar.
Source: kathimerini.gr
