February 2 (SeeNews) - France's Tereos Group said that it is selling its sugar factory in the central city of Ludus, which it had planned to close since 2021, to two Romanian investors.
The buyers, Mihaela Neagu and Mihail-Daniel Matache, are two investors in the agri-food and consumer food sector, Tereos Group said in a press release on Wednesday.
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The transaction, whose price was not disclosed, will be concluded over the course of the next week.
"We will start negotiations with farmers in the next few days, as the sugar beet for the autumn 2023 campaign is to be contracted during this period. We want to assure the 300 or so growers in the region that we are open to collaboration and we also want to assure the more than 150 employees that they will keep their jobs" said Mihaela Neagu, one of the investors.
In May, Romania's agriculture ministry said that it has started negotiations for the purchase of the sugar factory in order to prevent its closure.
Headquartered in Moussy-le-Vieux, France, Tereos is active in the production of agricultural raw materials, in particular sugar, alcohol and starch markets.
The company bought the Ludus factory from Roumaine de Sucrerie, a unit of Sucreries du Marquenterre Group, in 2012. The Ludus factory has been in operation for over 60 years and employed 174 at the end of 2021.