VILNIUS - MG Baltic, Lithuania's largest business conglomerate, announced last week that it would float a stake in Stumbras, a Kaunas-based distillery it has recently reorganized.
Darius Mockus, president and owner of 100 percent in MG Baltic, told a news conference on March 18 that the concern might float up to 40 percent in Stumbras, the country's second largest distillery, on the Vilnius stock exchange this autumn.
"We expect Stumbras to surge this year after last year's reorganization," Mockus said. "We could not offer a company that has no growth potential on the exchange."
As part of the deal, MG Baltic will spin off Stumbras' bioethanol plant in Silute into a separate entity by the end of the year.
Mineraliniai Vandenys, a subsidiary of MG Baltic, acquired 91.95 percent in Stumbras from the state for 152 million litas (44 million euros) last year. Since then Mineraliniai Vandenys has raised its holding to 99.3 percent.
Stumbras posted a net profit of 6.5 million litas on sales of 89.7 million litas in 2004. The distillery, quoted on the Current List of Vilnius Stock Exchange, has a market capitalization of some 457 million litas.
MG Baltic reported consolidated sales of 940.7 million litas for 2004, an increase of 7.3 percent year-on-year. This year turnover is expected to cross the 1-billion lita threshold, Mockus said.
Last year MG Baltic's investments into real estate and expansion amounted to 106 million litas, while in 2005 investments should reach about 150 million litas. The concern controls holding companies MG Baltic Trade, MG Baltic Investment and MG Valda. Besides Stumbras, the conglomerate operates several dozen companies, including Apranga, a textile and clothing manufacturer, and the ELTA news agency.
In 2004 MG Baltic cut its stake in Apranga, the country's leading garment trader, by almost one-third and divested 15 percent in commercial TV station LNK.
