Mid Europa Partners completes ‘largest ever’ Romanian PE deal

Mid Europa Partners has signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares in Profi Rom Food, the largest supermarket chain in Romania, from Polish Enterprise Fund VI.

Mid Europa Partners has signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares in Profi Rom Food, the largest supermarket chain in Romania, from Polish Enterprise Fund VI (PEF VI).

The private equity firm, focused on Central and South Eastern Europe, paid €533 million, according to a statement from PEF VI’s manager, Enterprise Investors.

The firms called the transaction the “largest deal ever completed by a private equity firm in Romania and the largest retail deal in the country’s history” and said it is expected to close in Q1 2017.

Profi has a retail presence in 250 Romanian cities, towns and villages, operating the Standard and City brands in cities and Loco in rural areas.

Nikolaus Bethlen, a partner at Mid Europa, said the acquisition underscored his firm’s commitment to Romania following the acquisition of healthcare provider Regina Maria last year.

“Profi has a proven track record of gaining new customers by offering fresh products in modern proximity stores around the country,” he said. “The company is in excellent shape and has great potential to grow in the years to come, as Romania has many more areas to take modern retail to.”

Enterprise Investors acquired Profi for €66 million in 2010, implementing a restructuring and boosting the number of stores from 67 at the time to 500 today.

The company said it expects revenues close to €800 million in 2016, which will translate into top-line and EBITDA growth of above 30 percent annually during 2010-16.

Operating from London, Budapest, Warsaw and Istanbul, Mid Europa Partners has raised and managed funds of approximately €4.3 billion.