Last week, audit and consulting firm Deloitte announced on its Facebook page that it had advised on the transaction.
Cristian Ludovic Pop had sold retailer Animax to Rohatyn Group, an asset management firm that has been looking at the Romanian market for several years. Animax has some 80 stores and posted a turnover of nearly RON120 million (over EUR25 million) in 2017.
Rohatyn Group is a firm created by Nicolas Rohatyn and other partners in 2002. Nicolas Rohatyn had previously developed JPMorgan’s emergency markets business. Rohatyn Group had paid over EUR20 million for Animax, according to market data, because the retailer is the undisputed leader of its sector, where its competitors are small stores and small chains. The value of the deal, however, is rather low, considering investment funds usually look for deals of over EUR50 million or even over EUR100 million.
The decision to sell Animax was made at a good time because the business grew steadily in 2008-2017, largely fueled by expansion and by the increase in the number of people who decided to get a pet. Economic and consumer spending growth in 2015-2016 was also a factor.