Morphosis Capital, CEECAT Capital, and the EBRD have exited Romanian discount retailer La Cocoş, selling their stakes to the Schwarz Group in a deal that sees the German retail giant take a 70% shareholding.

Founder Iulian Nica retains the remaining 30% and will continue to lead the company.

The transaction comes just months after the private equity consortium entered the company, underscoring the appeal of Romanian retail assets to strategic buyers. La Cocoş will now be positioned as the Schwarz Group’s fourth strategic pillar, joining Lidl, Kaufland, and Schwarz Produktion.

“This association reconfirms the value of the La Cocoş model, which has real growth potential. I thank the current investors for their trust and support, but also for entrusting this business model to the best hands,” said Nica, highlighting the opportunity to scale the brand across Europe while preserving its identity and core model.

La Cocoş operates four large-format stores in Romania and surpassed RON1bn in annual revenue in 2023, making it the largest local food retail network by turnover.

Christian Groh, Chairman of Schwarz Corporate Solutions, praised the company’s potential, stating, “La Cocoş has developed an impressive business model and has significant growth potential. By exchanging knowledge and experience, we want to learn from each other and together carry forward the company’s success story.”

This exit adds to a growing list of high-profile realisations by regional private equity firms in Eastern Europe, as strategics with global reach seek to expand through well-performing local assets.

Source: Ziarul Financiar

If you think we missed any important news, please do not hesitate to contact us at news@pe-insights.com.

Can`t stop reading? Read more.