Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen (NNDKP) successfully assisted the AAylex Group, majority owned by entrepreneur Bogdan Stanca and one of the largest players in Romania in the food industry, in contracting funding to expand the group in Romania by taking over Banvit Foods Romania.

The AAylex Group, developed from the former company Avicola Buzău, covers various activities, under the Cocorico brand. The acquisition of Banvit Foods, one of the largest producers of feed and "day-old chickens" in Romania, will allow AAylex to optimize the group's activity, by vertically integrating the activities "from farm to fork".

NNDKP provided AAylex assistance on two separate levels, carried out in parallel, respectively both in relation to obtaining financing and in connection with the realization of the transaction through which all participation in Banvit Foods was taken over.

The financing of approximately 20 million euros was granted in the form of a syndicated loan by CEC Bank and EximBank. In addition to financing the acquisition of the stake in Banvit Foods, AAylex will use the loan to finance the current activity of the group of companies.

During the acquisition process of Banvit Foods, the assistance involved structuring the transaction documents, negotiating them with Banvit Foods associates, supporting the fulfillment of the suspensive conditions agreed by the parties in order to complete the transaction, as well as going through the finalization stage. At the same time, NNDKP also assisted AAylex before the Competition Council in obtaining a favorable decision regarding the economic concentration generated by this acquisition.

The NNDKP team that provided AAylex assistance was led by Valentin Voinescu, Partner (Banking Law and Financing), Răzvan Vlad, Partner (Corporate / M & A) and Georgeta Dinu, Partner (Competition), and included Alexandru Ciambur and Cătălina Dan, Associate Lawyers (Banking and Financing Law) and Vlad Anghel, Associate Lawyer (Corporate / M & A).

"This acquisition is of strategic importance for the AAylex Group and represents the culmination of a success that has involved intense efforts over the past 5 years. We are confident that this acquisition will generate added value in both the internal and external perspective in the coming years, thus continuing to offer Cocorico customers a premium quality experience, "said Cristian Bărbulescu, Deputy CEO of AAylex Group.

"We are delighted to have been able to successfully assist the AAylex group, a leading local player in the food industry, in connection with its expansion plans. The transaction reconfirms the fact that the agri-food sector is a representative one for Romania, with a significant growth potential, and we are honored that our team was able to come to the aid of Romanian entrepreneurs with vision and entrepreneurship ", said Valentin Voinescu, Partner of the practice Banking Law and Financing.

”The AAlyex - Banvit Foods transaction ensures the continuation of the process of consolidating the production and distribution chain of the conglomerate led by Bogdan Stanca, in a highly competitive industry. We are proud to be part of this complex process - with ramifications including innovation and technology - which is based on a long-term strategy "said Răzvan Vlad, Partner in the Corporate / M&A practice.