Mid Europa Partners Seeks Buyer For Romania’s Profi

The firm has hired investment bank Citi to find a buyer, sources close to the talks told Romanian daily Ziarul Financiar.

Several strategic players are looking at the chain, including international players with a local presence such as Ahold Delhaize (owner of Mega Image), Auchan, and Carrefour, among others.

According to the daily, Polish retailers such as Biedronka, Dino, or Zabka also have Romania on their list of plans.

Profi is one of the largest retailers in Romania, with a turnover of €2.4 billion last year and more than 1,600 stores.

Profi

Profi has been growing rapidly in Romania, both in cities and across the countryside through its combination of standard, convenience, and small-town format stores.

Mid Europa Partners acquired Profi in 2016 from Poland’s Enterprise Investors for €530 million. At the time, the retailer had about 500 supermarkets and modern convenience stores across Romania.

Since then, the business has tripled in size, and the store network has doubled. Profi has also managed to achieve an 8% market share gain in the modern grocery retail segment.

This is not the first time Mid Europa Partners has tried to sell Profi. The firm reportedly explored a sale in 2019, but no deal was reached.

It is unclear why the private equity firm is now looking to sell Profi, but the sale could be part of a broader portfolio restructuring.

ESM