The private equity fund Mid Europa Partners hired the investment bank Citi to find a buyer for the Profi store chain, one of the largest Romanian retailers in terms of turnover (EUR 2.4 billion last year), Ziarul Financiar announced, quoting sources familiar with the deal. The fund reportedly seeks to get EUR 1 billion.

Previous exit attempts were reported in the past.

Mid Europa Partners became Profi's shareholder at the end of 2016 when it paid over EUR 530 million to Enterprise Investors for the retailer, which at the time had about 500 supermarkets and modern convenience stores.

In the last seven years, the Profi business has tripled, as has the store network.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Profi)