The Goal is 10 New Billa Store in Romania

Romania is one of the best markets for Billa in Europe, being left behind only by Russia.

According to Wolfgang Janisch, CEO of
Billa Romania, the largest supermarket network on the market, the
company is examining around five networks for an acquisition.
Locally, the company targets an expansion of the supermarket network
by at least 10 stores a year, a rate that could potentially increase
with acquisitions. 

"The main purpose of an acquisition on the
local market is to accelerate Billa's growth. We have not yet reached
the due diligence stage with the targeted networks," says
Janisch. According to Rewe representatives, last year, one of the
targets of the Rewe group (Billa's owner) was the discount store
Plus. Janisch also says four years ago, Billa was interested in
acquiring the Artima supermarket network, controlled at the time by
businessman Florentin Banu. Artima was taken over in 2005 by
investment fund Polish Enterprise Fund V, which sold it to Carrefour
last year.