Our eyes are on Ahold Delhaize as the grocer implements its latest ambitious growth strategy. Seeking to strengthen its presence in an attractive international market, the retailer has announced an agreement to acquire 100 percent of Romanian grocery retailer Profi Rom Food SRL from MidEuropa.
"I am very excited to welcome Profi into the Ahold Delhaize family," Frans Muller, Ahold Delhaize's Chief Executive Officer, said. “We have followed the company's trajectory for a while now and admire what the Profi team has been able to achieve. I strongly believe that Profi has an exciting growth pathway ahead, and look forward to partnering with the team to further solidify our presence in Central and Southern Europe."
Profi is a Romania-based traditional grocery retailer, operating 1,654 stores in the region.
The deal, which is subject to approval from the regulatory authorities, provides a strong format fit and complementary customer proposition to Ahold Delhaize's great local brand Mega Image in the Romanian market, a press release detailed.
The tactical transaction will more than double the size of Ahold Delhaize's existing Romanian business, which operates under the Mega Image brand and has 969 stores. As the release went on to explain, the combination will complement and expand the chain's existing Romanian footprint to better serve both urban and rural areas.
With this deal, Ahold Delhaize expects to generate significant revenue growth and synergies, which will directly benefit the Romanian customers through the improved ability for the company to reinvest in the customer value proposition, digitalization, ESG, and the Employer Value Proposition.
"I'd like to extend a very warm welcome to the full Profi team, we are very pleased to include them in our family,” said Wouter Kolk, Chief Executive Officer of Ahold Delhaize Europe and Indonesia. "This step forward fortifies our position in Central and Southern Europe, it also underscores our trust in the potential of the region. Both Mega Image and Profi have been serving Romanian customers successfully in the past decades, which translated into increased loyalty and growth. By joining our family, the combination will benefit from our European best practices in the fields of digitalization, sourcing, extended local assortment, infrastructure, and sustainability. I am excited for the journey ahead."
The acquisition consideration will be 100 percent debt-funded, with the transaction expected to close in 2024. Click here to read more about the strategic deal.
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