The EBRD said it participated in the acquisition of Żabka, one of Poland’s leading food retailers, with an equity investment of up to EUR25 million.
Żabka was recently acquired by funds managed by CVC Capital Partners, one of the world’s leading private equity groups, from its previous owner Mid Europa Partners. Żabka is the sixth largest food retailer and leading modern convenience chain in Poland with 4,600 franchise stores operated by 3,200 entrepreneurs.
The EBRD investment will support the continued strengthening of corporate governance and setting standards in “green innovation” through environmentally friendly investments. This will further advance Żabka’s competitiveness in line with the EBRD’s transition concept which argues that a well-functioning market economy should be integrated, competitive, inclusive, well governed, green and resilient. Since the beginning of its operations in Poland in 1991, the EBRD has invested almost EUR8.5 billion in more than 380 projects in the country.
About Żabka
Żabka is a chain of convenience stores in Poland. There are more than 4,500 stores across Poland. Some of it stores are located in the Czech Republic. The retail turnover was about EUR 650 million in 2010.
In 2007, it was acquired by Penta Investment. In December 2010 Penta sold the Czech operations of Żabka and Koruna subsidiary to UK retail giant Tesco plc. The transaction was closed in April 2011. In February 2011 Penta signed an agreement to sell the remaining Polish operations Żabka Polska, including the Freshmarket store format, to Mid Europa Partners. In February 2017, Mid Europa Partners closed a deal to sell the company for an undisclosed value (but estimated by analysts between 1 to 1,5 billion EUR) to the Luxembourg based CVC Capital Partners.
