Enterprise Investors buys Profi for 66m euros

Enterprise Investors, manager of investment fund Polish Enterprise Fund V, which exited the retail market in 2007 by selling Artima supermarket chain to Carrefour for 55 million euros, has signed the acquisition contract for discount retailer Profi. The transaction amounted to 66 million euros and marks the return of an investment fund to food retail, less than two years after the exits made by Enterprise Investors and Global Finance in this sector. The Profi chain was put up for sale this year, with two investment funds and Belgian group Delhaize, operator of Mega Image supermarkets left in the race, according to market sources. The franchisee of the Profi chain on the Romanian market, Profi Rom Food, is controlled indirectly by businessman Jean Marc Hendrix, who holds store chains on other European markets, as well. Profi Rom Food currently has around 60 operating stores, and last year reported a 94.5 million-euro turnover to the Ministry of Finance, and a 0.2 million-euro net profit. The sale of the 60-store discount chain is the deal of the year in retail, on a market dominated by German and French chains, which are also calling the shots in Europe.