Emperia Holding, a Maxima Grupė subsidiary that operates the Stokrotka grocery chain in Poland, has filed an application with the Polish competition authority UOKiK to proceed with the acquisition of nine stores in the Warsaw region, according to a media report.
The acquired stores will be located in Józefów, Karczew, Kołbiel, Mińsk Mazowiecki, Otwock and Ząbki.
In May of this year, Stokrotka signed an agreement to take over the grocery stores in a deal valued at more than €20 million.
The transaction, expected to close by the end of 2021, is subject to certain conditions, including unconditional antitrust approval.
Strengthening Market Position
Arūnas Zimnickas, managing director and president of the management board of Stokrotka, said, “Signing this agreement strengthens the position of Stokrotka in Warsaw region, a market that is very important to us.
“Locations taken over will enable us to reach a wide range of new customers and strengthen our brand in towns that are new for Stokrotka.”
Mantas Kuncaitis, Maxima Grupė CEO and chairman of the board, added, “We are focused on expansion in the Polish market, which is accomplished through fast organic growth as well as acquisitions of smaller retail chains that provide a good fit with the Stokrotka business model.“
At the end of 2020, Stokrotka’s store network comprised of more than 700 own and franchised stores.
In 2019, Maxima Grupė completed the merger of the Stokrotka and Sano retail chains in Poland, which it acquired in December 2018.
