It was only in March that plastics converter Pannonplast (H-1225 Budapest; www.pannonplast.hu) said it was thinking about selling its 50% stake in the Pannonpipe joint venture. Now Pipelife International GmbH (A-2351 Wiener Neudorf; www.pipelife.com), a jv of Wienerberger and Solvay, is to acquire these shares of the company, which Pipelife has been operating with Pannonplast since 1990. Also included in the agreement, which was signed on 4 August, is Pannonpipe´s subsidiary, Pipelife Romania. The two companies together posted sales of EUR 39m in 2004, with a total of 300 employees.

Norbert Speiser, COO of Pipelife Eastern Europe, said the joint venture had done very well indeed after the political and economic turnaround in Hungary and Rumania, but to be able to further develop its market position, it was necessary to integrate both the companies into the group. Pipelife has 30 sites in 26 countries. In 2004 it recorded sales of EUR 608m, with a workforce of 2,800.

According to Hungarian figures, the joint venture has not been economically viable in recent times. Following the success of the first few years, Pannonpipe actually reported a loss in 2004. With the income from the transaction, the Hungarians aim to reduce their debts by around EUR 11.5m. A spokesperson confirmed that the company would now concentrate on packaging and housings for the electrical and electronics industry. At the same time, Pannonplast intends to rekindle earlier plans for supplying the Hungarian market with packaging. It is, however, unlikely that this project can be started before the end of the year.