Polish retailer Piotr i Paweł is on the hunt for a strategic investor that could either take a majority stake in the business or take over the business altogether, ESM has learned.
The group, which operates 148 supermarkets across Poland, will be working with Spanish bank Santander as an advisor during the M&A process.
A formal memorandum of intent regarding the sale is expected to be published in the next couple of weeks, however the source told us that the company has already held “a number of meetings with potential investors”, including private equity groups, an individual close to the company told ESM.
“All possibilities are open,” our source told us. “If somebody wants to take over all 100% of the business, we will talk to them.”
Performance
Piotr i Paweł is owned by Eleonora Woś and her two sons Piotr and Paweł, who give the business its name. It has been in operation for 27 years this year, and posted net sales of around 1.7 billion Polish zloty last year.
However, the business is understood to have cash flow problems, which have escalated in recent years, as a result of the increased competition in the Polish market. ESM understands that Piotr i Paweł has reached out to a number of banks, including ING and Santander, for short-term support for the business ahead of its possible sale.
Among the potential suitors for the business is thought to be Carrefour, which is looking to increase the number of ‘premium’ supermarkets it operates in Poland. In December, Carrefour opened Carrefour Pro, a new, modern store format that is strongly ‘tech-enabled’.
The Polish market is one of the most competitive in Europe, with leading international groups such as Auchan, Tesco, Jeronimo Martins, Carrefour, Kaufland, Leclerc, Lidl and Aldi competing with a wide variety of local operators.
The country also intends to gradually impose a ban on Sunday shopping, with the recent introduction of legislation requiring retailers to close for two Sundays a month this year, and on every Sunday by 2020, except at certain times of the year, such as Easter and Christmas.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
