According to Wolfgang Janisch, CEO of Billa Romania, the largest supermarket network on the market, the company is examining around five networks for an acquisition. Janisch says Romania is one of the best markets for Billa in Europe, being left behind only by Russia. Locally, the company targets an expansion of the supermarket network by at least 10 stores a year, a rate that could potentially increase with acquisitions. "The main purpose of an acquisition on the local market is to accelerate Billa's growth. We have not yet reached the due diligence stage with the targeted networks," says Janisch. According to Rewe representatives, last year, one of the targets of the Rewe group (Billa's owner) was the discount store Plus. Janisch also says four years ago, Billa was interested in acquiring the Artima supermarket network, controlled at the time by businessman Florentin Banu. Artima was taken over in 2005 by investment fund Polish Enterprise Fund V, which sold it to Carrefour last year.
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