VILNIUS - Malsena, one of Lithuania's largest grain processors, received a major financial boost for its wheat-starch mill project last week when three local banks 'sVilniaus Bankas, Nord/LB Lietuva and Nordea Bank Lietuva 'sagreed to provide a 50 million litas (14.5 million euro) syndicated loan.
Vilniaus Bankas, Lithuania's biggest commercial bank by assets, announced on Sept. 15 that it was arranging the loan.
"Investment in the new mill will amount to 100 million litas. The syndicated bank loan will make nearly a half of the agreed amount. The signing of the loan agreement is planned for this month but construction will start at the beginning of 2005," the bank wrote in a statement.
Malsena's shareholders will finance the other half of the wheat-starch mill, the first of its kind in the Baltics.
Construction of the new facility in Panevezys is scheduled to begin in early 2005, with production to be launched at the start of 2006. The mill will produce starch, gluten and maltose syrup 's mostly for export to EU countries 's and will process up to 200,000 tons of Lithuanian wheat.
Malsena currently processes up to 140,000 tons of wheat and rye at mills in Panevezys and Vievis.
This year the company is targeting annual sales of 85 million litas, up from 75 million litas in 2003.
Also, Malsena announced on Sept. 14 that it has purchased a 50 percent stake in Gintarinis Amzius, one of Lithuania's biggest pasta producers. Giedrius Barysas, CEO of the Snaige refrigerator producer, and Rasa Streliene each sold a 25 percent stake in the pasta producer to Malsena, and each retains a 25 percent stake.
The value of the deal has not been disclosed.
"By merging our pasta production capacities, we expect to win a market share of at least 50 percent in the Baltic countries within a year or a year and a half," Mindaugas Gedvilas, CEO of Malsena, said.
The company produces pasta under the brand names of Gintariniai and Pasaka for all three Baltic markets. It posted a net profit of 1.3 million litas for the first half of this year, a rise of 12.6 percent year-on-year. Last year its annual revenues surged by 40 percent to 75 million litas.
VB Rizikos Kapitalo Valdymas, a subsidiary of Vilniaus Bankas was Malsena's largest single shareholder, holding 37.46 percent of stock in late January.
