Emperia Holding S.A. has acquired 98.98 percent of shares in Lewiatan Dolny Śląsk Sp. z o.o.
Emperia Holding S.A. has acquired 98.98 percent of shares in a Polish limited liability company, Lewiatan Dolny Śląsk Sp. z o.o. with its seat in Zgorzelec.
Parties to the SPA include Emperia Holding S.A. and individuals being shareholders of Lewiatan Dolny Śląsk Sp. z o.o.
Lewiatan Dolny Śląsk Sp. z o.o. is the franchisor of a FMCG retail franchise currently comprised of 100 outlets, operating some 11,000 sq. m of total selling space, with 2007 sales of some PLN 130 million. The Company operates in the Dolnośląskie Region.
The acquisition of the interest will be financed with internal cash flows of Emperia Holding S.A. The take-over of Lewiatan Dolny Śląsk Sp. z o.o. by the Emperia Holding Group of Companies is part of a development strategy adopted by Emperia Holding assuming active consolidation of the retail and wholesale market in Poland.
“The acquisition of Lewiatan Dolny Śląsk Sp. z o.o. marks yet another step in pursuit of our development strategy of growth through consolidation of the retail and wholesale market. This is also another step bringing closer together two Polish trading organisations: Lewiatan and Emperia,” said Artur Kawa, Chairman of Management Board, Emperia Holding.
Emperia Holding is one of the largest Polish retail and wholesale trading organisations that engage in FMCG products wholesaling and retailing. The wholesale subsidiaries of the Emperia group operate 68 distribution warehouses throughout Poland. The Emperia retail chains manage over 1,200 retail outlets and supermarkets. A new public offering on the Stock Exchange in Warsaw raised Emperia Holding S.A. PLN 232.5 million for its further growth.
Company Background Information:
Emperia Holding is ranked seventh among the largest trading businesses in Poland, 44th on the Rzeczpospolita daily 500 List, and 39th on Polityka’s Five Hundred list for 2006.
Emperia Holding has been consistently pursuing the consolidation of the retail and wholesale FMCG market in Poland. Following the 2006 takeover of the BOS Group (56 branches and 81 outlets in Eastern and North-Western Poland), in July 2007 it incorporated Społem Tychy (36 retail outlets in the Śląskie Region), and in September the Centrum subsidiaries (13 retail outlets in the Warmińsko-Mazuskie Region of Poland) and Maro-Markety (18 retail outlets located in the Wielkopolskie and Opolskie Regions of Poland). In June 2007, the decision was made to acquire 100 percent of the wholesale subsidiaries of Sydo in Wrocław and Alpaga Xema in Poznań. October saw the incorporation of Euro Sklep S.A. (265 retail franchises and proprietary outlets operating in the Śląskie, Opolskie, Dolnośląskie, and Małopolskie Regions of Poland), and in November Emperia Holding acquired Sklepy Polka (74 outlets in the Podlaskie and Świętokrzyskie Regions). In December, Retail Services Poland (27 retail franchises) was taken over. n 2008, Emperia incorporated Lewiatan Dolny Śląsk and Lewiatan Zachód. The company has set its sights on further acquisitions, and talks are well under way with partners seeking to join Emperia Holding.
The operations of Emperia Holding S.A. fall into two business lines: retail and wholesale, boasting a workforce of over 11,000 between them.
The retail business comprises the following chains:
Stokrotka – 114 supermarkets, including 3 Stokrotka Premium deli supermarkets;
Groszek – 578 retail franchises;
Lewiatan Podlasie – 143 retail outlets;
Jaskółka i Milea – 32 retail outlets;
Społem Tychy – 32 retail outlets;
Centrum – 13 retail outlets;
Maro-Markety – 18 retail outlets, operating under the name of Lewiatan Podlasie;
Euro Sklep – 258 retail outlets;
Polka – 74 retail outlets.
The wholesale business comprises 9 subsidiaries (Eldorado, BOS, DLS, Sygel-Jool, DEF, Express Podlaski, Sydo, Alpaga-Xema, and an importing and exporting arm, Arsenal). In aggregate, these companies operate 68 distribution branches, including 58 cash&carry locations, offering the total area of some 232,000 sq. m.