Dutch-Belgian retail group Ahold Delhaize has acquired Profi Rom Food, a major grocery retailer in Romania, for an enterprise value of €1.3 bn from private equity investor MdEuropa.
Profi is a major convenience and proximity supermarket chain active across the country's cities and countryside. The company operates through a network of more than 1,650 stores and generated revenues of more than €2.5 bn in the twelve months ending June 2023.
Since MidEuropa's acquisition of Profi in 2017, the company has become the largest supermarket chain in Romania, based on number of stores, and one of the fastest-growing retailers in the country, successfully adding over 1,100 stores and increasing sales by more than 3.3x.
The sale is MidEuropa's fourth liquidity event in 2023, following the partial exit of its investment in the software company Symfonia and the e-commerce marketplace Allegro, as well as the full exit from the healthcare provider Kent.
MidEuropa's sale of Profi to Ahold Delhaize marks the largest grocery deal ever in continental Europe involving private equity. Furthermore, the deal makes regional history as the largest grocery deal ever in Central and Eastern Europe, according to MidEuropa.
Robert Knorr, managing partner at MidEuropa, commented: 'The sale of Profi is our second EUR1bn plus exit in the retail sector in Central Europe, following our success with Zabka, where we built a Polish convenience champion.
'The sale to Ahold Delhaize validates the clear strategic value we have added to Profi and represents yet another milestone for MidEuropa as we once again deliver attractive returns and significant liquidity to our investors. The sale of Profi is also a very important exit for the Central European region which continues to be home to some of the most compelling growth companies in Europe.'
Ahold Delhaize is one of the world's largest food retail groups. Its family of local brands serves 60 million customers each week, both in stores and online, in the US, Europe, and Indonesia.
In Romania, Ahold Delhaize operates a nationwide network of 969 stores, under the Mega Image brand. The combination is expected to complement Ahold Delhaize's Romanian footprint and better serve both urban and rural areas.
The transaction was executed by Aleksandar Dragicevic, Dragos Ardelean, Valentina Giambasu and Ivo Cavrak. Advisors to MidEuropa included: Citigroup Global Markets Limited (financial adviser), White & Case and RTPR (legal counsel), Ernst & Young (financial and tax), and Beragua (commercial).
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in 2024.
