Deloitte Romania assisted the African Industries Group (AIG) holding, present in Romania through investments in agriculture, distribution of agricultural equipment and real estate, in the acquisition of the fitness network World Class Romania from the Polish investment fund Resource Partners. The transaction was signed in April 2022 and has been closed on July 15, after obtaining all the necessary approvals. The acquisition of the 41 fitness centers network represents AIG’s entry in the health and wellness segment.

Echipa DeloitteFoto: Deloitte Romania

The multidisciplinary team of Deloitte involved in the project was made of experts from Romania and Germany, who provided commercial, financial and tax due diligence services, as well as assistance in negotiating the sale-purchase agreement. In Bucharest, the team of financial advisors was composed of Radu Dumitrescu, Partner-in-Charge, Ioana Boca, Director, Crina Ciudin, Senior Associate, Cristina Ifrim, Senior Associate, and Madalina Tene, Senior Associate, while the team of tax experts was composed of Alexandra Smedoiu, Partner, Monica Tariuc, Director, Mihaela Iacob, Senior Manager, and Victoria Dobre, Senior Manager. The contribution of Deloitte's financial advisory practice in Germany was provided by Stefan Ludwig, Partner, and Steffen Gausselmann, Manager.

“This is the second transaction in which we collaborate with Deloitte, after the one in which we acquired Agricom Borcea, Tudor 92, Concordia Agro and Alisa Farm Management farms, as well as Thames Farming Enterprises, the company that owns the four farms. This time, the project has been carried out in two phases, both involving due diligence requirements and negotiation, and Deloitte's international team has been with us during the entire process, fully involved, showing flexibility in the way it has responded to the many changes that have occurred during an eight-month collaboration. I particularly appreciated the commercial competence of Deloitte’s team and the professionalism of its financial analysis,” said Alexandru Rusu, CFO CEE, African Industries Group.

“I believe that the success of this transaction was ensured by the extraordinary collaboration with both the management team of AIG and the other consultants. We are honored that we managed to assist our client during the few months that the project lasted, through an international team, formed by experts from Romania and Germany. This transaction represents AIG's entry into a new market and a new step towards strengthening its position,” said Radu Dumitrescu, Financial Advisory Partner-in-Charge, Deloitte Romania.

With a team of 50 experts, Deloitte is one of the leading providers of financial advisory services for local and multinational companies in the private and public sectors in Romania. In 2021, Deloitte Romania's financial advisory team was involved in over 100 complex projects through all service lines.

In 2022, among the recent transactions and financing in which the Deloitte Romania team has been involved are the takeover by Knauf Insulation, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of insulation solutions, of the Gecsat glass mineral wool factory, the obtainment of a EUR 325 million loan from Raiffeisen Bank by Romgaz to partially financing the takeover of Exxon Mobile Exploration and Production Romania Limited shares, the acquisition of Capital Financial Services, operating under the Twispay brand, by Elrond Network.