Sibiu-based transporter Sorcani, owned by businessman Mircea Barbu, has taken over the four-star Best Western Silva hotel, managed by Silva SA. The deal comes as the hotel has been making losses for the past two years, in contrast to the positive momentum of the buyer, a transportation firm with solid business and profit growth.
The acquisition is to be approved next month by the shareholders of Silva SA, who will also vote to change the company’s name to Hotel Silva and to convert it to an LLC. Silva SA, which manages the hotel, is 95% owned by Gheorghe Popa, husband of recently retired judge Carmen Marilena Popa, former president of the criminal section of the Sibiu Tribunal and judge at the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal. Among the minority shareholders are Ilie and Mariana Domnariu, Ioan Marcu and Stela Stretean, former director of the office of the prefect of Sibiu, Ion Ariton. The Best Western Silva hotel has 49 rooms and a restaurant with two lounges seating 170 and 290 respectively. In 2024, Silva SA reported a turnover of about EUR1 million, which has remained relatively constant over the last three years, but recorded losses of about EUR105 thousand, after having also made a loss in 2023.
The buyer, freight transportation company Sorcani, was founded in 1993 as Ben Trans and is wholly owned by Mircea Barbu. The company reported a net profit of EUR1.4m for 2024, up 46.5% from 2023. Turnover for 2024 ranged, depending on the source, between EUR21.3m and EUR21.8m, registering an increase of 22.7% year-on-year. The company had an average of 195 employees. Representatives of both companies did not provide details of the transaction at the time of initial publication.
The acquisition comes amid a booming hospitality market. According to Eurostat data cited by Colliers, the local industry recorded a 19% increase in turnover in the first half of 2025, the third largest advance in the EU. Although the increase in tariffs has brought Romania in line with regional markets such as Poland and the Czech Republic, the number of overnight stays has stagnated, with growth of less than 4%. Romania attracted 2.2 million overnight stays by foreign tourists, significantly below Poland (7.2 million) or Hungary (6.1 million). However, the market is gearing up for at least 15 new hotel openings by 2027, after only one major international chain hotel, Ramada by Wyndham in Otopeni, opened in 2024. Recent openings include the Corinthia Grand Hotel du Boulevard and the Handwritten Collection by Accor in Bucharest, where occupancy has reached levels comparable to post-2000 peaks.