Armenian Businessmen Acquire Gorna Banya

In a deal reached late last week, Armenian businessmen Gagik and Djavair Tsarukyan have agreed to purchase the Gorna Banya Bottling Company for €25 million. The Bulgarian water bottler is under a mountain of debt including €4 million in short-term loans and €12 million in long-term bank loans. Up to 80% of the money raised in the deal will be used to help reduce the load. Pavlin Ivanov and Roumen Tsvetkov, two of the other Gorna Banya partners, have also sold their interests in the company.

Gorna Banya Bottling Company
Founded in 1997, Gorna Banya is a bottled mineral water producer operating in Sofia’s Gorna Banya district. The company, which also produces fruit juices and soft drinks, controls the rights to three local springs through 25-year agreements with the Bulgarian government. Those agreements are expected to be extended to 35 years in the near future.

Gorna Banya concentrates on the residential market though it does distribute commercially. The company’s delivery fleet reaches more than 5,000 distributors and retail outlets within Bulgaria.