The parties interested had until end of September to submit non-binding offers and some of the biggest private equity firms in the world and retail groups joined the race. Those left are private equity firms KKR, Mid Europa Partners, Pamplona Capital and BcPartners, market sources say.
Some of the investors are already known on the market because of their investments in the country or in the region. Others not so much. One such example is Pamplona Capital, behind which is Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman. Fridman is also an indirect shareholder in Russian retailer X5, which has more than 5,000 stores, ZF has found. A member of the board of X5 since September 2013 is Polish executive Pawel Musial, who holds a similar position in Profi’s board. Musial quit his Profi CEO position in early 2015, after having run the retailer for several years, and remained a member of the Supervisory Board and chairman of Profi’s Strategy Committee.
Profi posted almost 50% increase in revenue to 1.6 billion lei (EUR356 million) in the first half, amid stepped up expansion ahead of the sale and continued rise in consumer spending. (EUR1=RON4.5007)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)