Croatia’s sixth largest grocery retailer, Tommy, has been put up for sale, according to local website T-Portal.
The supermarket chain is the undisputed market leader in the coastal region of Dalmatia.
According to unofficial information, confirmed by several market sources, negotiations have intensified in recent weeks, with CVC Capital Partners mentioned as the potential buyer for the business.
The UK-based fund, whose portfolio includes 73 companies worldwide, is estimated at over $75 billion. In recent years, CVC Capital Partners took over Polish retail chain Zabka.
About Tommy
Split-based Tommy has annual revenues of around HRK 3.6 billion (€465.4 million) and annual EBITDA of over HRK 250 million (€33.2 million).
Its network consists of over 200 stores across a number of different formats (hypermarket, maxi market, supermarket, and market), visited by an estimated 250,000 customers a day.
The retailer, part of Tommy Group, which is owned by local entrepreneur Tomislav Mamić, has seen strong but stable growth, without much exposure to financial institutions.
With an estimated market value of €150-200 million, the group’s portfolio includes bakery and confectionery company Bobis, meat industry Petason, as well as a stake in coffee and tea producer Franck. In recent years, Tommy Group has also started investing in the tourism sector.
In the past, Mamić mentioned the possibility of a public offering of shares in order to introduce fresh capital. There have also been press reports of possible interest by Austria’s SPAR to take over the Tommy supermarket business.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Branislav Pekic. For more Retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
