Wal-Mart on Kopeika

The American retail giant Wal-Mart is said to be interested in acquiring the Russian Kopeyka discount chain. It is reported that the company made a preliminary offer to Kopeyka’s owner, Nikolay Tsvetkov in June 2009. It is thought that Mr Tsvetkov has not yet accepted the offer but that he is likely to do so in August. The retailer is estimated to be worth up to $630m. According to reports in the press, Wal-Mart is interested in obtaining a 100% stake in the retailer, but the possibility of Mr Tsvetkov’s retaining a minority stake is also being considered. Neither of the parties would comment on the reports. Interestingly, in April 2009 Wal-Mart held talks with another Russian retail chain, Lenta, on the acquisition of a 51% stake but it withdrew from the negotiations. On the other hand, the X5 Retail Group and Magnit showed interest in purchasing Kopeyka, but neither succeeded in concluding a deal.Wal-Mart operates 7,000 stores in 15 countries around the world, whereas Kopeyka owns a chain of 528 discounters all over Russia.

Source: russiaretail.com