AUCHAN looks to buy the Caravan hypermarkets chain store

The Caravan chain can shortly turn into management of the Ukrainian subdivision of the French holding AUCHAN.

By the time of the publication release to receive the official comment was not succeeded in chain of the Caravan hypermarkets, not in AUCHAN Ukraine. However, it is not surprising: as a rule, the companies carefully suppress even the fact of the transaction before signing of all documents.

The Caravan leaves

“Considering that AUCHAN is a part of large international holding, they will definitely not disclose anything before the completion transaction. But information on buying of the Caravan chain is not groundless. They began to discuss this question three months ago. It is quite possible that they already agreed” — the interlocutor of RAU says.

The director of the Ukrainian association of retail chain stores suppliers Alexey Doroshenko adds that desire of current owners to sell chain quite explainably: “Now in Ukraine desire to leave business is at many of retail chain owners. Many small chain are unprofitable, and owners understand that they will not be able further to continue to work. Some conduct negotiations on sale already on the third circle, constantly reducing the price to gain for the assets though something. I think, the Caravan in this plan is not an exception and information on negotiations can be reliable”. At the same time he notes that the acquisition of so large assets some companies working in Ukraine can afford .

Several transactions of last year can demonstrate that it is harder and harder comparatively small chain to survive in the market. So, ATB bought 17 markets Barvinok by Eurotek of Mikhail Veselsky, and BILLA having sold to local operators two Kharkiv supermarkets. By the way, Kharkiv was left also by the FORA discounters chain: eight shops of a brand passed to the local Digma retailer.

In the 2008th in the market appeared the first rumors about fast change of the hypermarkets Caravan chain owner.  The second for the size chain store at the world – the French Carrefour – interested in entry into the Ukrainian market. By different estimates, for 50%+1 event of Carrefour managing company it was ready to pay $120-150 million.

Then the parties also refused flatly to comment on a possibility of the transaction, and also the reason for a conversation soon disappeared: the world economic crisis began, and French lost interest in Ukraine.

 AUCHAN comes

The following time the Caravan chain approximately in the middle of last year “began to be sold”. Officially the fact of negotiations by any of the parties is not recognized, however the market players and participants do not do a secret of this fact. And, seemingly, that this time the transaction after all will take place. After the beginning of the Ukrainian economy growth in the 2016th and first for the last two and a half years of the retail market revival, French aim to be ahead of competitors and to strengthen the own positions.

In particular, Immochan Ukraine – the developer subdivision entering into the same AUCHAN holding as AUCHAN Ukraine – invests in the construction of three objects in Ukraine at once. “We on implementation of three projects are concentrated: Poznyaky Shopping Center, a Petrovka Retail Park and the project in Odessa” — the commercial director of Immochan Ukraine Anna Koryagina told in interview to RAU.

If the French holding in projects so with long payback period with construction of shopping centers is ready to invest, then why not to assume that it is interested also in “expansion with absorption”? Especially as considering a situation in the market and not the most outstanding financial performance of Caravan hypermarkets (a chain net profit for 2015 made 14 million UAH at revenue in 3,3 billion UAH), for chain will hardly request too much. According to Alexey Doroshenko to sell assets for good money in the situation existing in the Ukrainian market it is impracticable. “But to purchase chain at very attractive price – more than really” — he says. It is not excluded that AUCHAN decided to take an opportunity and for cheap to purchase the objects situated in good locations with guaranteed high traffic, and at the same time and to go in regions, new to itself.

At the same time, Alexey Doroshenko emphasizes that to speak about the transaction as about the come true fact so far early. “Experience of similar transactions shows that negotiations on sale at any time can be stopped. Therefore with confidence about this transaction only after the official announcement it will be possible to speak” — Doroshenko considers.