Romania’s competition authority cleared the takeover of local distribution company DRIM Daniel Distributie FMCG by Polish convenience retailer Żabka, which plans to open some 200 outlets on the local market by the end of the year. 

The entrepreneurs who founded DRIM Daniel (Radu Trandafir, Marcela Trandafir, and Ioana Ionițescu) will remain minority shareholders, and they will set up with Żabka a new company, RetailCo – which will operate the retail chains, Profit.ro reported. 

The Polish group will first bring the Froo chain to the Romanian market, followed by the Nano chain of “autonomous” or unmanned (no cash registers or attendants) stores. 

Żabka is owned by Luxembourg-based private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, which took it over from Mid Europa Partners in 2017. With more than 10,000 stores, home deliveries, digital solutions, and over 3 million customers served daily, it is one of the leaders in modern convenience retail in Europe. 

iulian@romania-insider.com

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