June 6 (SeeNews) - Croatia's largest retailer by number of outlets Studenac said on Monday it completed the acquisition of 300-store chain Lonia, bringing the number of its outlets to more than 1,050 with countrywide coverage.
“Studenac has almost tripled its store count since it was bought in 2018 by private equity fund Enterprise Investors, expanding nationwide through takeovers and organic growth. Enterprise Investors has invested more than 260 million euro ($279 million) in Studenac, including 120 million euro for acquisitions,” Studenac said in a press release. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
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Lonia Trgovina is operating in continental Croatia, as 27 its shops are in the area of the capital Zagreb, where Studenac had so far only a handful of stores.
“The acquisition will complement Studenac’s geographic coverage and will transform the company into a fully fledged nationwide player with the highest number of stores,” Enterprise Investors said in a separate press release.
The Polish fund acquired Omis-based Studenac in August 2018, when the chain numbered over 380 shops located predominantly on the Croatian coastline and islands, with a hub in Dalmatia.
Studenac subsequently integrated five large add-ons – Istarski Supermarketi and Sonik in 2019, Bure in 2021 and Pemo and Lonia in 2022 – as well as several smaller targets with fewer stores. The acquisitions added 595 shops to the chain.
The company has also been growing organically and is on rack to complete 100 store openings in 2022.
Currently, Studenac is present in 16 of Croatia’s 20 counties, and in the capital Zagreb. It has over 5,500 employees.
“The company’s dominant position is reflected in its strong financial results – the merged company is set to generate revenues in excess of 500 million euro in 2022,” Enterprise Investors said in its statement.
($=0.932 euro)