Hoop to take over assets of debt-ridden Hellena

If this happens, the company will join the elite of domestic non-carbonated drinks and fruit juice producers. The possibility of Hoop taking over Hellena has been talked about since June 2005 when Hellena applied for bankruptcy after revealing debts if zł.30m. At the time it had a 17% market share. Court documents showed that the Kalisz company was worth zł.252m of which over zł.70m was in the brand name. 2004 was the first year in which Hellena recorded a multi-million loss. The cause was huge drop in sales as a result of the cold summer. The increase in the price of sugar after Poland's accession to the European Union was also a problem. Marek Jutkiewicz, the president of Hoop, confirmed that his company is interested in taking over Hellena's assets. "We will see what we can buy and then decide what to invest in," said Jutkiewicz. (Parkiet, p. 5) S.D.