3 April 2008 - Yesterday FLEXNEWS reported that beverage firms Hoop of Poland and Kofola of the Czech Republic completed a merger and created the Kofola-Hoop Group with 1.4 billion zlotys in annual sales (400 million euro).
The newly-formed wants to become one of the three largest soft drink makers in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, says the Polish press.
The firm could spend up to 200 million zlotys (about 57 million euro) on acquisitions in Poland, the Czech Republic and Russia, added the press.
Kofola-Hoop is currently in talks to buy 2 Polish companies, said a spokesperson.
Meanwhile, Kofola-Hoop will soon exit Hungary, where it lost 5 million zlotys (1.4 million euro) last year, and may spend around 20 mln zlotys (5.7 million euro) to buy back shares, the press also said.