bauMax sells the Romanian stores to French group Adeo

The Do It Yourself chain bauMax has reached an agreement for selling its domestic chain comprising 15 stores to French-based Adeo Group according to Agerpres which quotes APA. The sale was concluded through a “share deal” transaction, pending competition approval, whose price has not been disclosed.

The stores, subject of this transaction, are located in Bucharest (2), Bacau, Brasov, Constanta, Craiova, Cluj Napoca (2), Iasi, Pitesti, Ploiesti, Sibiu, Suceava, Targu-Mures and Timisoara.

Adeo Group is the leading French player in the international DIY market, controlling Leroy Merlin chain, among others, which is also present in Romania with a unit in Bucharest.

Law firm Popovici Nitu & Asociatii advised the French party in this transaction, while Noerr acted as legal advisor of bauMax.

“We are glad that we have found a great solution for bauMax Romania, allowing a positive outcome for all parties involved, mostly for suppliers who will be able to prove, as before, the potential of the Romanian market. bauMax can successfully carry on the reorganization, along with the banks, especially in the five core countries”, said Michael Hurter, CEO bauMax, as per the newswire.

The Austrian company has initiated a restructuring process following a major expansion in Eastern Europe and Turkey, markets which have negatively influenced bauMax’s financial results in the last years. In 2012, the most recent one for which financial reports are available, the loss of the DIY company went up to 126 million euro, from 47.2 million euro in 2012.