Lenta’s acquisition of the Billa network (Billa Russia) is followed by legal action.
As per the journalist MorningNews, last summer, Lenta declared the successful purchase of Billa Rossiya supermarkets. However, things turned out to be more complicated.
MKPAO Lenta, a major multi-format retail chain in Russia, announces that its indirect subsidiary Lenta LLC has finalized the purchase of the Billa Rossiya supermarket chain,” the report stated. news articles on the website.
The details of the deal were openly disclosed. Specifically, it was revealed that the purchase price at the time of completion was about 225 million euros.
Lenta also revealed plans to incorporate the 161 acquired supermarkets, supply chain infrastructure, and the framework of Billa Russia into its own retail network.
“This acquisition will significantly boost Lenta’s strategic expansion in Moscow through well-established retail outlets with high sales volume,” Lenta highlighted the benefits of the deal.
But is there a downside?
The acquisition of the Bill supermarket chain by Lenta is accompanied by legal disputes concerning several stores, stated “Kommersant” and explained that the rights to lease them to the company were transferred as part of the transaction. However, there's a catch: the bank “Trust” has succeeded in selling these properties as part of debt collection from the premises' owner – the company Retail Chain Properties.
It appears that the Moscow Arbitration Court granted the bank’s request and foreclosed on real estate pledged under a mortgage agreement with Retail Chain Properties Ltd.
This foreign company, as per the publication, is linked in the market to the former owners of the mentioned bank Ilya Yurov, Nikolai Fetisov, Sergey Belyaev.
We're referring to 13 locations in Moscow, where Billa rented premises.
An important detail: the main shareholders of Lenta are from the are “Severgroup”, and the CEO of “Severgroup” is a well-known businessman Alexei Mordashov.
The chairman of the A1 Bar Association, Alexander Zablotskis, whose statements are cited by Kommersant, believes the chances of appealing the decision in higher courts are slim.
The Trust informed the publication that they intend to follow the procedure for foreclosing assets and aim to auction the received properties. The value of the properties is quite substantial.
Mikhail Burmistrov, General Director of Infoline-Analytics, mentioned that Lenta took into consideration this dispute and other potential risks related to lease agreements for the acquired network's properties when negotiating with Rewe Group, but there was no significant discount.
Simultaneously, the source of the publication alleges that for Lenta, this situation threatens to delay the planned opening dates for some stores.
Litigation is part of the territory. Whether legal disputes will impact Lenta’s plans or not, it's impossible to confirm now, but their unpleasant consequences may come to light.
