31 October 2007 - Polish soft drink producer Hoop will float shares in its Czech peer Kofola on the Warsaw stock exchange after both companies merge, reports the Czech press.
“The aim of the merger is to float Kofola on the Warsaw bourse, speed up (the company's) development in Poland and enter the Russian market”, said a Kofola spokesperson.
Company spokesman Martin Klofanda describing the merger in July said: "In 2007 we will continue in the development of our activities in the non-alcoholic beverages’ market within the scope of all Central European countries, and this is reflected by the current corporate merger of the number three Polish beverage company, Hoop S.A., and the expansion of the Hungarian product portfolio, where we have started to import our Kofola Original since May of this year. We also expect turnover growth within the Kofola group, especially in connection with product innovation, which since the beginning of the year have been noted as a significant success by consumers".
FLEXNEWS reported that Hoop agreed earlier this year to merge with Kofola to create a company with an annual revenue of 1.3 billion zloty (358 million euro), which would operate in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Russia and Slovakia.
Kofola produces and supplies soft drinks in central Europe. Besides the Czech Republic, the company also operates in Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary.
Kofola saw its sales for the first nine months of 2007 increase by 16% to 3.5 bln crowns (130 million euro). As of July 2007, the firm had a workforce of about 1,290.