London-based private equity firm Lion Capital has bought Dutch department store chain Hema, it was announced late on Friday. Lion Capital and the vendor Maxeda, a privately-held retail group headquartered in Amsterdam, confirmed the transaction but declined to reveal the financial details. The Sunday Times in the UK said Lion Capital paid EUR 1.1 bn but the newspaper did not give a source for this information. Hema operates about 350 stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg.

London-based private equity firm Lion Capital has bought Dutch department store chain Hema, it was announced late on Friday. Lion Capital and the vendor Maxeda, a privately-held retail group headquartered in Amsterdam, confirmed the transaction but declined to reveal the financial details. The Sunday Times in the UK said Lion Capital paid EUR 1.1 bn but the newspaper did not give a source for this information. Hema operates about 350 stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg.

Maxeda, formerly known as Vendex KBB, operates several department stores and other non-food chains that are household names in the Netherlands. Private equity firm KKR led a EUR 1.6 bn buy-out of Vendex in 2004. The consortium subsequently sold the retail group's properties in a landmark sale and leaseback deal for EUR 1.5bn.