Romanian billionaires collect tens of million euros during crisis after “parting with” Mercedes, IKEA or Rompetrol

Three of the wealthiest Romanian entrepreneurs, Ion Tiriac, Dinu Patriciu and Puiu Popoviciu have in the past year signed exits that have brought tens of million euros into their accounts, but that also meant their bidding farewell to three of the best-known brands on the Romanian market: Mercedes, IKEA and Rompetrol. In late 2009, Ion Tiriac exited Mercedes business after shaking hands with Germany's Daimler AG for the sale of the 49% stake. In 2008, Mercedes-Benz Romania posted sales worth almost 400m euros. Tiriac's exit was the first deal on the domestic car market since the start of the downward trend in the fourth quarter of 2008. A few months later, in March 2010, the "event of the year" in the furniture industry occurred, namely the direct entrance on the Romanian market of Sweden's IKEA giant through the purchase of the store of Baneasa, in a deal ZF put at over 30m euros. Popoviciu had brought the world's biggest furniture retailer in Baneasa complex in 2007 through a franchise. The first deal of the past year in which one of the richest Romanians was involved was signed last summer, when Dinu Patriciu exited Rompetrol. Thus, two years after selling the 75% stake in Rompetrol to Kazakhstan's KazMunaiGaz, a deal that made him a billionaire, Patriciu decided to move on to other businesses.