Auchan Hungary Ltd. and its domestic subsidiaries involved in the acquisition employ around 6,000 people, and in 2023 they will have achieved an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of HUF 27 billion on sales of HUF 460 billion.
"With the experience gained from operating more than 50 domestic and international shopping centres and retail outlets, we can make Auchan's operations in Hungary more efficient and profitable, and our retail property portfolio can accelerate the expansion of the well-known and popular brand in Hungary. This requires us to take a meaningful role in the management of the company as a minority shareholder," pointed out Dániel Jellinek, the head and majority owner of Indotek Group.
Jellinek told local news portal Telex that three of the four Board members will be nominated by Indotek and the group will have a majority on the Supervisory Board as well, but the French parent company will remain the owner and the brand name will not change for 20-25 years.
He added that with the cooperation of Indotek Group, Auchan can open new stores in Indotek's existing retail properties and even become an indispensable player in the lower floor area segment. With the expansion of the store network, the chain's products will be available to a significantly wider range of customers in new rural settlements, he added.
"I would like us to be the third largest player with a 15% market share, roughly doubling our current market share," Jellinek told Telex.
Auchan, which currently accounts for around 6.8% of Hungarian retail sales, has 19 large hypermarkets and 5 supermarkets in Hungary, with a total store area of more than 250,000 square meters. The chain also has 19 petrol stations.
Dániel Jelinek underlined that he does not plan to sell the stake they have just acquired in the next five years, nor does he want to bring in a partner.
Indotek Group announced a year ago that it will acquire a 47% stake in Auchan Magyarország Kft. and will become the sole owner of the retail premises on the floors of Auchan stores through the acquisition of Ceetrus Hungary Ltd. and Nhood Services Hungary Ltd. (The latter transaction is currently being closed.)
The parties have not disclosed the value of the transaction and have stated that their cooperation is exclusive, Indotek stressed.
