Advent takes Eko private

The deal was done through the newco Ecorse Investments. Advent has already purchased 62.14% of the shares and plans to delist and start restructuring the business following the acquisition of the outstanding shares in the next few days. The transaction was financed by equity only.

The GP is said to have raised its offer for the group three times in a bid to beat off competition from rival private equity firm Mid Europa Partners. The remaining shares are owned by pension and investment funds.

Advent plans to restructure Eko in order to reposition the business for growth, refocusing the company's business model by simplifying its structure. An agreement with previous owners Mr and Mrs Gradecki was made whereby they agreed to take over Eko's non-core businesses following the transaction, effectively relieving the group of PLN 65m of debt and injecting a cash consideration of PLN 15m.

Changes to the remaining business will include the introduction of new processes and operating standards, and an acceleration of the roll-out of new supermarkets.

Company
Poland-based Eko consists of a number of retail chains including 305 Eko stores, 800 Rabat franchise stores and 165 Jasmin franchise drug stores. The group also owns Polska Grupa Drogeryjna, a wholesaler of household chemicals and cosmetics. It employs 3,600 people.

The company's accounts for H1 2012 show total revenues of PLN 887.4m with an EBITDA of PLN 18.6m and an EV of PLN 554.2m.

People
Advent partner Tamas Nagy and director Paweł Ryszkiewicz represent the GP.

Advisers
Equity – Weil Gotshal & Manges (Legal); Ernst & Young (Financial due diligence, tax); OC&C Strategy Consultants (Commercial due diligence); UniCredit CAIB (Broker).

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