Louis Delhaize's Romanian retail chain Mega Image can take over only some 1,500 of the 1,600 stores operated by its rival Profi to avoid a dominant position in certain cities where their networks overlap, according to the competition council's president Bogdan Chiritoiu, Economedia.ro reported. 

Separately, Mega Image will be required to keep Profi's suppliers for a period of two years to give them time to find other distribution partners (or continue working with Mega Image).

The EUR 1.3 billion deal, announced by the parties last year, still awaits the competition council's permit. The parties impacted by the agreement are still expected to express their comments and proposals.

The list of the 80-100 Profi stores to be excluded from the takeover will be published by November 4.

The Profi stores that Mega Image will not be allowed to take over, 100 at most, are located in first-tier cities and will be put up for sale for other retailers seeking expansion opportunities. Profi is particularly active in smaller towns where Mega Image is absent, so this results in limited overlap areas, mainly in large cities such as Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, and Timisoara.

Ahold Delhaize taking over Romanian retail chain Profi from Mid Europa Partners poses multiple challenges due to the strong position achieved by the buyer, which already operates local retail chain Mega Image, on both wholesale procurement and retail markets, Romania's competition body commented on August 14.

Mega Image has announced a series of commitments aimed at ensuring the smooth functioning of the retail market, particularly regarding its acquisition procedures.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Profi)