Shareholders of Palink, operator of the Iki grocery store chain, found a potential buyer, the magazine Versus reported. However, Palink shareholders are also considering going public, the report said. "We are mulling a possible IPO. Moreover, we have met with representatives of several investment banks, which could be our advisers," Iki CEO Aidas Mackevicius said. Sindicatum, the London consultancy representing Palink, sent letters to several London-based banks inviting them to participate as a lead manager. Iki, which is controlled by Belgian investors and Citigroup, reported 1.6 billion litas (462 million euros) in sales in Lithuania and Latvia in January-September, up 33.5 percent year-on-year.
Danish Royal Unibrew, owner of Cido, Latvia's largest producer of juices and soft drinks, will invest over 3 million lats (4.2 million euros) in Livu Alus, the country's third largest brewer. The company said it would also move production of brewery Lacplesa Alus to Liepaja, where Livu Alus is headquartered. "As we are planning a considerable upgrade of our brewery in Liepaja, we decided to move production from Lielvarde to Liepaja. We are developing fast, which is why more production capacity is necessary... We will be able to fully use the advantages offered by the new brewery to expand the beer supply to Latvian buyers," Jesper Colding, general director of Royal Unibrew in Latvia, said in a press release. Royal Unibrew reported earlier that it planned to increase its share in the Latvian beer market and strengthen its positions on the overall Baltic market, where the group operates in the non-alcoholic drinks segment and is among the top three beer producers.
