X5 Retail Regulatory News (FIVE)

21 Nov 2006 07:08

X5 Retail Group N.V.21 November 2006 NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN 21 November 2006 X5 RETAIL GROUP N.V. ANNOUNCES CLOSING OF THE TRANSACTION FOR THE ACQUISITION OF METRONOM AG Amsterdam, 21 November 2006 - X5 Retail Group N.V., Russia's leading groceryretailer, today announced closing of the transaction for the acquisition of 100%of OOO "Metronom AG", following the approval of the Supervisory Board of X5Retail Group N.V. and statuary government approvals, including antimonopolyauthorities. As a result, X5 Retail Group N.V. acquired a business owning retail premises ofapproximately 33,000 square metres in commercially attractive districts of thecity of Moscow, as well as a wholly-owned distribution and office centre in thecentral part of Moscow with total capacity of more than 17,000 square metres,with a land plot of 4.3 hectares. Through this acquisition, Pyaterochka Holding N.V. also acquired an establishedand growing operational business of 16 supermarkets in the city of Moscow, withthe rights for the retail operations in the Russian Federation under "Merkado"and "Merkadona" trademarks. The total enterprise value of the transaction is US$ 200 mln, of which theenterprise value of the operational business (excluding the value of realestate) is approximately US$ 50 mln. Lev Khasis, Group CEO commented on the closing of the transaction, "We are happy to announce closing of a transaction which gives us a valuableaddition to our real estate portfolio but also significantly enhances ouralready leading position in the most important retail market of Russia - thecity of Moscow. The Merkado supermarkets will be integrated into either "Perekrestok" or "Pyaterochka" formats and we will ensure that the services ofthe acquired chain will be quickly brought to the level of the Group's existingquality standards." Vitaliy Podolskiy, Group CFO added, "The Merkado chain is a highly profitable business which will further enhancethe financial performance of the Group. During the integration process, we willmake sure that the operations of the acquired chain are uninterrupted,particularly in terms of continued supplies to the stores and guaranteedpayments for already executed supplies." Note to Editors: X5 Retail Group N.V. is Russia's largest food retailer in terms of sales. As of30 September 2006, the group had 420 company-managed "Pyaterochka" soft discountstores located in the Moscow (199), St. Petersburg (199) and Yekaterinburg (22)areas, and 141 company-managed "Perekrestok" supermarkets across Central Russiaand Ukraine, including 81 stores in Moscow. As of 30 September 2006, franchisees operated 539 Pyaterochka branded storesacross Russia, in Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Perekrestok has 10 convenience storesoperated by franchisees in the Moscow area. Pyaterochka and Perekrestok have merged their operations as of 18 May 2006 tocreate the clear leader in the Russian food retail market. Pyaterochka's 2005 net sales (pre-merger) reached USD 1,359 million, with grossbanner sales in 2005 of over USD 2 billion. Perekrestok net sales reached USD1,015 million in 2005. The Group's pro forma net sales for the 9 months of 2006 were US $2,411 million(management accounts). The Pyaterochka chain provided US $1,374 million of netsales, while the Perekrestok chain contributed US $1,037 million of net sales. Forward looking statements: This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identifiedby the fact that they do not only relate to historical or current events.Forward-looking statements often use words such as" anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "expected", "plan", "goal" believe", or otherwords of similar meaning. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty becausethey relate to future events and circumstances, a number of which are beyond X5Retail Group N.V.'s control. As a result, actual future results may differmaterially from the plans, goals and expectations set out in theseforward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of X5 Retail Group N.V.speak only as at the date of this announcement. Save as required by anyapplicable laws or regulations, X5 Retail Group N.V. undertakes no obligationpublicly to release the results of any revisions to any forward-lookingstatements in this document that may occur due to any change in its expectationsor to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document. - End - Enquiries to: X5 Retail Group N.V. Gennady Frolov Head of Corporate Communications Office +7 495 984 6956 ext.2093 Mobile +7 495 998 3335 Email gennady.frolov@x5.ru This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange