December 21 (SeeNews) - Finnish paints and coatings maker Tikkurila said on Thursday it signed an agreement to sell the entire share capital of its subsidiaries in Serbia and Macedonia to the local management.
The divestiture of the subsidiaries in Serbia and Macedonia is part of a more extensive programme to boost profitability and competitiveness, the Finnish company said in a statement without revealing financial details of the deal.
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"The market development in the Balkan area has not met our expectations. Tikkurila has a strong focus on premium products, the demand of which has not developed as well as hoped in Serbia and the countries near-by," the interim president of Tikkurila, Jukka Havia, said in the statement.
The transaction, subject to fulfilment of agreed preconditions, will be closed during the first quarter of 2018, Tikkurila said.
Tikkurila entered the Balkan area in 2011 by acquiring the business operations of a Serbian paint company Zorka Color. In addition to Serbia, the company operated also in Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and Kosovo.
The combined revenue of the two companies to be sold was approximately 13 million euro ($15.5 million) in 2016, and the number of employees totalled 130.