Austrian Rewe International AG is selling a 100% stake at Billa-Ukraine to the owner of Novus, another chain of supermarkets, as was reported by RAU referencing the press service of Novus.
Consul Trade House UAB (the only member of Novus Ukraine LLC) has reached the final stage of conducting a deal with Rewe International to buy a 100% stake in Billa Ukraine, which owns a chain of supermarkets called Billa. The deal is in the process of receiving final approvals from the Ukrainian Anti-Monopoly Committee.
As Rewe International AG noted, both Novus and Billa continue operating in the usual regime, meeting all their obligations to partners and contractors. The finalization of the deal shall be announced separately – when it undergoes all necessary approvals from Ukraine’s regulatory bodies.
A part of REWE Group, Billa counts 35 supermarkets located in Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast, and Zhytomyr. It was the first international retailer that entered the Ukrainian market. The company came to Ukraine in the early 2000s, opening supermarkets in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro; Billa reached the peak of its development in the crisis year of 2014, with 39 supermarkets in 9 regions and 16 Ukrainian cities. However, in 2017, the company decided to halt its business in the regions, focusing on Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast instead.
Novus, in turn, is a part of the Lithuanian group BT Invest; it’s been operating in Ukraine since 2009. BT Invest invests in other sectors of the Ukrainian economy as well, including Stolitsa Group, Retroville and EVT. Today, Novus is one of the most successful and promising chains in Ukraine, uniting 46 stores under its brand. The total area of the supermarkets is over 220,000 sq. m. The company develops retail facilities of various formats ranging from 400 to 7000 sq. m, including franchising. At the same time, in 2019, the turnover of the Novus chain amounted to UAH 11.5 billion.