This was the biggest capital injection operated in January by foreign shareholders for a company registered in Romania, according to Trade Registry data.
Kingfisher entered the Romanian market in 2013 by acquiring 15 Bricostore units in Romania from France’s Group Bresson, for which it had paid EUR75 million, sources cited by Bloomberg said at that time. The British group also had to reimburse some loans. Kingfisher started the rebranding of Bricostore units as Brico Depot in 2014.
Kingfisher has strengthened its presence in Romania by acquiring the Praktiker network from businessman Omer Susli, in 2017. The transaction was estimated at nearly EUR50 million ad was completed in December 2017.
In 2016, Brico Depot and Praktiker had a cumulated turnover of nearly EUR290 million, accounting for nearly 10% of a market worth approximately EUR3 billion.
The Romanian DIY market reached nearly EUR2.6 billion in 2016, up nearly 8% versus EUR2.4 billion in 2015. In Romania, Kingfisher is vying with market leader Dedeman, with a turnover of over RON505 million, with France’s Leroy Merlin, the Arabesque chain and with Germany’s Hornbach.