by Eugene Vorotnikov FoodBizDaily.com Moscow
November 17 2009 - Polish Investment Fund Abris Capital Partners is planning to acquire a Western Ukrainian retail group "Pakko", Ukrainian media reports.
"The parties have already signed a preliminary agreement of intent", - according to sources in the market. The Ukrainian partners of Abris Capital Partners have also confirmed the fact of negotiations.
However the Polish fund is not the only bidder for Pakko. Several companies are considering the possibility of acquiring a 50% share of the chain.
"The company's debt load is very big, so we will have to sell more than 50% of our shares in order to attract a sufficient amount of investments”, - according to sources in the Ukrainian company.
The value of the transaction may exceed $10 million dollars".
Recall that in early October, this year "Pakko announced merger negotiations with another Ukrainian retail group Agrokontrakt in order to attract the investments of a large-scale Western investment fund.
Meanwhile Abris has already made one acquisition in the Eastern European region. Last year the fund bought the Ukrainian retail group "Barvinock," which combines more than 25 stores with a total area of more than 10,000 square meters.