Croatia’s competition authority (AZTN) has approved the acquisition of supermarket chain Lonia Trgovina by Studenac.
The authorities established that the deal would not have a negative effect on competition in areas in which the two chains are active.
These include the city of Zagreb, as well as the Sisak-Moslavina, Bjelovar-Bilogora, Požega-Slavonia, Brod-Posavina, Karlovac, Varaždin and Koprivnica-Križevci counties.
The director of Lonia Trgovina, Dragan Munjiza, told Lider Media that the due-diligence process is coming to an end, and the signing of the contract now depends on the owners of both companies.
On The Acquisition Hunt
Since its takeover in 2018 – by private-equity funds owned by Poland’s Enterprise Investors – Omis-based Studenac has been expanding its network in Croatia through M&A operations, consisting of over 650 stores.
The shopping spree started in 2019, with Istarski Supermarketi and Sonik, followed by Bure in 2020 and Pemo earlier this year.
If the takeover of Lonia Trgovina goes ahead, it would be the biggest acquisition for Studenac, adding 298 stores and taking its network to more than 1,000.
According to the latest available figures, Studenac closed 2020 with HRK 1.8 billion (€237.6 million) in revenue, making it the country’s largest retailer, in terms of stores.
Lonia Trgovina achieved revenues of HRK 600 million (€79.2 million) in the same period.
The company recently acquired local retailer Sloga Podravska Trgovina, operating about 70 stores, enabling it to expand its activities to the county of Koprivnica-Križevci.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
