[size=75:1wkqgnwv]novinite 24 March 2010

Italy's Lavazza Coffee Shops Eyes Bulgaria's Onda

Torino-headquartered Lavazza Coffee Shops Srl (LCS) is planning to enter the Bulgarian market by acquiring the local coffee shop chain Onda Coffee.

The Italian company has already filed a request at the state antitrust commission to give the green light to the acquisition, the regulator announced.

According to a statement published on the site of the Commission for the Protection of Competition the deal is expected to affect Bulgaria's coffee shop market.

No further details were immediately available.

Onda Coffee Break, whose biggest shareholder is Greece's Global Finance, has eleven coffee shops in the Bulgarian capital Sofia.

The Greek based asset management firm Global Finance decided to invest in local coffee shop chain Onda Coffee Break in 2005. The model for the outlets was developed by Irish and Dutch specialists.