Luca officials did not comment on the talks with Mega Image. On the other hand, the representatives of the Belgian-held retailer, which has 195 stores in Romania, say, “we are interested in new locations on the market. As for [the takeover of] Luca stores in Brasov, we won’t comment.”
This would be one of the most important deals of Mega Image in Romania, for which it should pay several million euros. It is not its first acquisition, as it has relied on buying smaller networks to expand its own since entry on the market.
The takeover of Luca stores in Brasov is the first acquisition of a local company with regional coverage. Three of the 20 Luca stores are supermarkets, and the rest are convenience stores. Therefore, Luca operates precisely the same store formats as Mega Image.
Mega Image posted EUR288 million revenue in 2011 and the acquisition would improve its presence in Brasov, where it has two stores, according to its website.
The Brasov group owned by the Luca family has meats production and distribution and retail operations in Romania and posted EUR13 million revenue in 2011.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)