25th Mar 2008 08:00
Inchcape PLC25 March 2008 INCHCAPE ACQUIRES REMAINING 24.9% STAKE IN ITS ST PETERSBURG BUSINESS IN CONTINUED EXPANSION INTO RUSSIA Inchcape plc ('Inchcape' or the 'Group'), the world's leading car retailer,today announces that is has purchased the remaining 24.9% stake in its StPetersburg business from its joint venture partner, Olimp Group, for a totalcash consideration of $54.8 million, (£27.7 million), from existing facilities. This follows the announcement on 4 October 2007, that Inchcape had acquired a75.1% shareholding in the retail businesses of OOO Orgtekhstroy ("OTS"), an Audiretail business in St Petersburg and OOO Concord ("Concord"), a Peugeot retailbusiness, for a total cash consideration of £19.1m from the Olimp Group. This inturn followed the Group's initial 75.1% acquisition of Olimp Group's Toyota/Lexus retail business announced in August 2006 for a cash consideration of£34.5m. Together, these five retail centres sold a combined volume of 8850 newvehicles in 2007. There are additionally plans, also announced in October 2007,to relocate the existing Rustavelli Toyota retail centre and construct a newflagship Lexus retail centre in St Petersburg to operate our Lexus business in the city. The acquisition gives Inchcape a significant presence in St Petersburg, thesecond largest city in Russia, and is in line with the Group's strategy todevelop a scale position in Russia. It is another step in the implementation ofthe Group's multi-brand retail footprint with its OEM brand partners, providingbroad segment coverage of one of the fastest growing markets in the world. Andre Lacroix, Group Chief Executive of Inchcape, commented: "This acquisition is directly in line with our strategy of building scale in Russia. The foreign car market grew by 64% in 2007 and we now have 100%ownership of one of the largest automotive retail businesses in St Petersburg. "The Group will be progressing with the expansion of this exciting business,including an investment in the development of two new sites in St Petersburg forToyota and Lexus." For further information, please contact: Group Communications, Inchcape plc+44 (0) 20 7546 0022 Investor Relations, Inchcape plc+44 (0) 20 7546 8432 Financial Dynamics (Jonathon Brill/Billy Clegg)+44 (0) 20 7831 3113 Notes to editors Inchcape plc Inchcape plc is the leading independent, international automotive retailer, withscale operations in Australia, Belgium, Greece, Hong Kong, Singapore and the UK.The Group also has operations in a number of other markets, including EasternEurope, the Baltic's, China, Russia and South America. In addition to growingits core businesses, Inchcape is looking to develop scale operations in new andemerging regions. It represents leading automotive brands and operates either aretail, or a vertically integrated retail model (i.e. exclusive distribution andretail), depending on the market. Inchcape's current key manufacturer partnersare Toyota/Lexus, Subaru, BMW, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Audi and Honda. For further information, visit us at www.inchcape.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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