Ideal Holdings returns to industrial sector
Athens-listed company Ideal Holdings is about to acquire a yet unnamed Greek industry with production facilities inside the country.
Barring any unpleasant surprises, the agreement will be closed by the end of 2024, i.e. within the next three months, and it is likely that its value will exceed 100 million euros. Therefore, a few months after the sale of Astir Vitogiannis, Ideal Holdings will once again acquire an activity in industry, a sector that has been widely recognized as likely obtaining particular significance in the coming years.
The management of Ideal Holdings has been guarded about revealing the sector in which the industry under acquisition operates – given also that Ideal must stick to bourse regulations – without, however, ruling out its entry even into food. In the past, after all, it had made a foray into the beverage business, acquiring Three Cents and then selling it to Coca-Cola HBC. What we do know is that new investment, hailed as significant, will not be related to retail, in which Ideal Holdings is active through the Attica Department Stores, nor to the IT sector, where it has now gained a strong presence, following a series of acquisitions.
There are still two or three companies on the investment “radar” of Ideal Holdings, with the related planned acquisitions seen taking place no sooner than next year. The new investments will be financed by Ideal Holdings’ €180 million, most of which comes from the sale of Astir Vitogiannis to Italy’s Guala Closures, a deal reached last April. Following the divestment from mixers maker Three Cents and cork maker Astir Vitogiannis, through which Ideal Holdings had also invested in emerging the South African market, acquiring cork maker Coleus in 2022. The listed company’s portfolio currently includes the following companies: Adacom, Attica, Bluestream (75%), Byte Computer, Ideal Electronics and i-Docs. The acquisition of 75% of Bluestream took place in 2024.
In the first half of 2024, Ideal Holdings’ revenues amounted to €184.9 million against €50.1 million, an increase of 269%. This is thanks to the 65% increase in revenues from the company’s IT activity and from the acquisition of Attica Department Stores, a transaction that was completed on September 1, 2023.
