November 27 (SeeNews) - France-based paper distributor and provider of packaging and visual communication solutions Antalis International has canceled plans to buy Romanian provider of visual solutions for the advertising industry Verla.
"After several months of negotiations on a possible transaction, Verla's management and Antalis group decided by common agreement to give up the transaction and continue their collaboration as external partners in full respect for the principles of market economy and fair competition," the two companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
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The deal was cleared by Romania's competition authority in September and was supposed to be finalized during the summer of 2019.
"At the end of October, due to differences regarding future development strategy and personnel policy, we decided not to go further with this transaction. We will strengthen our business and expand our range of portfolio products. Verla remains a family business, and the experience we gained during this negotiation will prove to be extremely important for us in the future," Verla's majority shareholder Viorel Verzea said.
Antalis was created in the 1990s through the merger of about 40 international paper distribution companies all over the world. Headquartered in France, it focuses on paper and visual communication media distribution, employing 5,500 and serving some 140,000 customers, companies and printers in 43 countries.
Antalis entered Romania in 2003 by buying local peer RTC Paper + Boards and then rebranding it to Antalis Romania.
Founded in 1994, Verla posted sales of around 8 million euro ($9.05 million) in 2017.
($= 0.884 euro)