In the final stretch, the acquisition of Dimitriou by the Quest group

By George Lampiris

The ability to gain access to a market share at the level of 20%, in home air conditioners where, among other things, G.E. Dimitriou SA will have the Quest group, with the acquisition of the aforementioned company on whose behalf it has undertaken the commercial distribution of its products in recent months. The consolidation plan submitted to the Court last May has not yet been approved by the competent court, despite the fact that more than 60% of Dimitriou’s creditors have consented to it. Sources close to both Quest and G.E. Dimitriou estimate that it is now a matter of time to complete the consolidation process that will pave the way for the new era of the company, now under the umbrella of the Quest group.

In the next day of Dimitriou, the current president and CEO of the company, George Dimitriou, will continue to play a role in the administrative affairs of the company, but not shareholding. The company trades in addition to the home air conditioners mentioned above and professional air conditioning and heating units. The most important of the brands on the market is Toyotomi, which occupies the largest share of its sales, while also marketing Kerosun and Singer products.

Up to 30 million euros invested by the Quest group in funds

After the approval of the consolidation agreement, Quest will proceed with a share capital increase in Dimitriou and an additional 20-25 million euros in working capital, which means that the total investment will rise to levels from 25 to 30 million euros. In addition, the Quest group will be asked to pay 18 million euros for Dimitriou’s liabilities. The percentage of liabilities that Quest will assume will arise after the consent of the creditors, which will lead to the reduction of the total liabilities from the current 50 million euros to 18 million euros, as defined by the provisions of the bankruptcy article. 106b.

In essence, Quest sees through this movement the opening of another activity in addition to the existing ones, that of air conditioning, where and due to the conditions brought about by climate change, the demand for products in this category has increased significantly in recent years. years. According to the same information, Dimitriou recorded a 25% increase in sales of air conditioning products in 2021, compared to 2020, but sales that come compared to the previous year, when the stores were closed as the consumer public buys white appliances close and prefers to do market research by visiting physical stores rather than make an online purchase.

Following the court decision and the approval of the resolution agreement, the relevant approval decisions by the Hellenic Capital Market and Competition Committees are pending.

It is noted that at the moment Quest is already operating to a limited extent through the subsidiary Clima Quest, which is the exclusive distributor of Gree air conditioners in the Greek market.

A target of 50 million euros in turnover in 2033

Finally, according to Dimitriou’s business plan as reflected in the consolidation plan submitted to the Court, the total revenue is projected to rise from 30 million euros in 2022 to 49.6 million euros in 2033, recording an annual average change in + 4.7%. As far as Ebitda is concerned, they are expected to become immediately positive and reach 2 million euros over a period of five years.