The Maspex Group last week signed a conditional agreement with Roust Corporation to acquire the Polish spirits holding company CEDC (and its subsidiary B2B Wine & Spirits. CEDC, among others, manages the Roust Group's entire business in Poland). This will make Maspex the market leader in the country's vodka market and expand its portfolio with the iconic brands Żubrówka, Soplica, Absolwent and Bols. This financial transaction will also give rise to Poland's largest food group with a turnover of over EUR 2.4 billion and employing over 9200 people. The condition for the contract to enter into force is the approval of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection. The value of the transaction is approximately €870 million.

Maspex is a multinational food company based in Wadowice, Poland. Founded in 1990, it has developed mainly through acquisitions in Central and Eastern Europe and has become the owner, with this latest transaction, of 20 leading companies. It is now one of the largest food producers in the region.

Roust Corporation (owned by Russian tycoon Roustam Tariko), is the second largest vodka producer in the world and the largest spirits company in Central and Eastern Europe. The holding company includes the distribution company Rust Inc. and, indeed, CEDC. It also owns Russian Standard Vodka, 95% of whose shares are held by the Italian wine producer Gancia.