Serbian feed phosphates deal: ‘Consolidation like this is to be expected’
Stanko Popovic, CEO of the Elixir Group, told local media this month that Phosphea, formerly Timab Phosphates, will then start running the Serbian group’s feed phosphate production complex from 1 August.
The deal that sees Phosphea acquiring the feed phosphates activity of the Elixir Group was first announced in April this year.
That business, spread across Central and Eastern Europe, includes a monocalcium phosphate plant production unit of 100,000 tons capacity, which is located in Prahovo, Serbia.
With this acquisition, Phosphea said it continues its ambitious development strategy and integrates a platform based in dynamic markets.
The acquisition was subject to antitrust approvals.
“This deal makes perfect sense to us,” said Chris Lawson, head of phosphate analysis at CRU.
Phosphea has the marketing experience and contacts, which is advantageous in what has become a very competitive market, he said.
“Indeed, competition is all of the Eastern Europe market has intensified in recent years, with more product coming from Russia, as well as Serbia.
“Phosphea already have a presence in this market, so this move provides them with a domestic supply source and knocks out a competitor.
“Feed phosphate prices have fallen significantly over the past 24 months, so consolidation like this is to be expected,” he told FeedNavigator.
Raw material sourcing
Popovic said the contract Elixir signed with the Roullier Group envisages that they will continue to use Elixir’s raw materials, that is, “to buy phosphoric acid produced by Elixir Prahovo and domestic calcium carbonate, and [it] will use our port and rail for transporting their goods.”
Elixir is a Serbian industrial group specialized in plant, animal and human nutrition. The group primarily operates in Europe, generating a turnover per year of €240m last year.
Phosphea has a workforce of 280 employees, and generates an annual turnover of around €300m. It has five production sites in France, Tunisia and Spain.
