French retailer Auchan and Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer, are among the potential bidders for Ukrainian hypermarket group O’Key, just-food understands.
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At the beginning of this year, O’Key, owned by Luxembourg-registered firm Expert Capital, started to seek a strategic investor to acquire 50% of the business.
The cash raised was to fund expansion and the company aimed to take a 3.5% share of the Ukrainian market by 2011.
However, it is now understood that the company is looking at a full sale.
“The deal of the chain’s sale is nearing completion. Three strategic investors came in the last round of negotiations. In the next two weeks we will announce a new owner,” sources Renaissance Capital Ukraine, financial advisors to the deal, told just-food.
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By GlobalDataAuchan has already opened negotiations with a Ukrainian property developer, Panorama Group, about renting premises formerly rented by O’Key. According to local analysts, this may indicate the impending sale of financially struggling O’Key to the French group.
According to information obtained from unofficial sources, Tesco could be another of the bidders.
However, O’Key has remained tight-lipped on the deal.
“At the moment I can not comment anything. In two weeks we will be able to say something more specific, when we realise how we move forward,” Expert Capital general director and O’Key chairman Raul Parusk told just-food.
Tesco failed to return a request for comment while Auchan officials could not be reached for comment as just-food went to press.
