25th Mar 2008 07:01
X5 Retail Group N.V.25 March 2008 NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN X5 RETAIL GROUP N.V. TO BUY OUT 28 PYATEROCHKA STORES IN PERM Amsterdam, 25 March 2008 - X5 Retail Group N.V., Russia's largest food retailerin terms of sales (LSE ticker: "FIVE"), today announced that it has signed anagreement to acquire 100% of the business and assets of Kama Retail company - aPyaterochka franchisee in the Perm region, for a total consideration ofapproximately USD 18 million, including debt. The Company plans to close thedeal in April 2008. As part of the agreement, X5 Group will acquire a total of 28 soft discountstores in Perm and the Perm region with a selling area of 9.3 thousand sq.m.The total area of purchased stores is 19.9 thousand sq.m, out of which 1.9thousand sq.m. are wholly owned1. Net revenue of Kama-Retail for 2007 exceededUSD 50 million. Lev Khasis, X5 Retail Group CEO, commented: "The Perm region is an important part of X5's regional expansion plan for 2008and will allow us to expand the Group's presence in Urals by adding to itsexisting discounter chains in Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk. Acquiring KamaRetail, an established Pyaterochka franchisee, provides X5 with an excellentopportunity to secure a strong position in the new region from the verybeginning, creating a solid platform for future organic growth". Andrei Gusev, Mergers, Acquisitions and Business Development Director at X5Retail Group added: "This is a second deal in execution of the Group's tactics of selectivefranchisee buy-out in strategically important regions. Based on our successwith the first deal in April 2007 when 40 discount stores in Chelyabinsk werebought-out, we expect that this transaction will also result in seamlessintegration and quick improvement of stores' performance both in terms of salesdensity and efficiency." *** The Perm region with the total area of 160,600 sq. km is a part of UralsEconomic District and is located on the Western slope of the Urals Mountains.The total population of the region is about 2.8 million people. The Perm regionis among most economically developed areas of Russia. There are over 55,000businesses, specializing in engineering, chemical and petrochemical, fuel,power, metallurgy, timber, and pulp-and-paper industries. 1one store under a financial leasing arrangement with a buy-out option Note to Editors: X5 Retail Group N.V. is Russia's largest food retailer in terms of sales. TheCompany was created as a result of a merger between Pyaterochka (soft discounterchain) and Perekrestok (supermarket chain) on 18 May 2006. As of 31 December 2007, the Group had 674 Company managed soft discount storeslocated in Moscow (309), St. Petersburg (244) and other Russian areas (121), 179Company managed supermarkets across Central Russia and Ukraine, including 105stores in Moscow (Moscow region and Yaroslavl region), and 15 Company managedhypermarkets. As of 31 December 2007, X5's franchisees operated 688 stores across Russia andKazakhstan. The Group's net sales for the full year 2007 reached USD 5,320 mln, an increaseof 53% year-on-year. Gross profit for the period totaled USD 1,404 mln, EBITDAamounted to USD 479 mln. Full year 2007 net income reached USD 141 mln. Forward looking statements: This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can beidentified by the fact that they do not only relate to historical or currentevents. Forward-looking statements often use words such as" anticipate","target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "expected", "plan", "goal" believe",or other words of similar meaning. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty becausethey relate to future events and circumstances, a number of which are beyond X5Retail Group N.V.'s control. As a result, actual future results may differmaterially from the plans, goals and expectations set out in theseforward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of X5 Retail Group N.V.speak only as at the date of this announcement. Save as required by anyapplicable laws or regulations, X5 Retail Group N.V. undertakes no obligationpublicly to release the results of any revisions to any forward-lookingstatements in this document that may occur due to any change in its expectationsor to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document. For further details please contact Anna Kareva Elena CherkalovaIR Director PR ManagerTel.: +7 (495) 980-2729, ext. 22 162 Tel.: +7 (495) 950-5577e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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