Hungary“s Parad KristalyManufaktura, a 300-year-old maker of crystal, has been bought by four subsidiaries of Magyar Befektetesi es Vagyonkezelo a Hungarian investment and asset management company, s…
Hungary“s Parad KristalyManufaktura, a 300-year-old maker of crystal, has been bought by four subsidiaries of Magyar Befektetesi es Vagyonkezelo a Hungarian investment and asset management company, said Parad Kristaly supervisory board chairman Gyorgy Petrilla on 25 August 2004. ST Glass, Borsod-Abauj 2000, Svercsek and Lencsehegyi Szenbanya each took a 24% stake in Parad Kristaly, Mr Petrilla said. Magyar Befektetesi es Vagyonkezelo is owned by the State Privatisation and Holding Company (APV). Mr Petrilla said the shares were bought for a nominal sum from two private investors. Mr Petrilla, who is also CEO of ST Glass, said the integration of Parad Kristaly“s production with that of ST Glass would increase efficiency. Mr Petrilla said Parad Kristaly has annual sales of HUF 1 billion and losses of HUF 100 million, while ST Glass is targeting sales of HUF 3.3 billion and losses of HUF 350 million in 2004. ST Glass“s machine-made products are sold on the European market, while Parad Kristaly“s handmade crystal is sold almost exclusively in the US and Japan, Mr Petrilla said. Parad Kristaly CEO Imre Nagy said the 20% fall of the US dollar against the Hungarian forint had hit the company hard. Mr Petrilla said Parad Kristaly would retain its 430 employees, as would ST Glass its 730-strong workforce. (HUF 100 = EUR 0.3999)