ARX Equity Partners (“ARX”) and Darby Private Equity (“Darby”), the private equity arm of Franklin Templeton Investments, together with experienced food industry executive Gerard Lenihan, have completed the buyout of Gramex 2000 Kft. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Gramex (www.gramex2000.hu) is a leading Hungarian manufacturer and bottler of nonalcoholic beverages, providing high quality products under its own brands, as well as in partnership with strong local and international retailers and A-brand producers. ARX, Darby and Lenihan intend to grow Gramex in the coming years organically, via regional expansion. Among other previous executive roles, Lenihan was also the CEO in a private equity-backed management buyout in Hungary in 1996. „Gramex has grown sales dynamically over the past three years, exceeding the overall market trend, and we believe that Gramex can further leverage its reputation and service capabilities to grow in Hungary as well as internationally”, said Lenihan.