Lenta Acquires Major Pharmacy Chain, Expands Market Reach
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian supermarket chain Lenta on Monday said it had acquired Russia's second-largest chain of pharmacy stores for an undisclosed sum, adding over 1,500 stores to Lenta's portfolio and giving the company a foothold in Russia's cosmetics market.
Lenta, which acquired 2,120 convenience stores of the Monetka chain in a cash and debt takeover last year, is widening its reach into other retail segments and estimates that the Russian market for perfume and cosmetics products could exceed 1 trillion roubles ($9.43 billion) by the end of this year.
The deal would see Ulybka Radugi, which translates as 'Smile of the Rainbow', continue operating separately. Lenta said it was seeking approval for the transaction from the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS).
Lenta said the terms of the deal would see it acquire 100% of the voting shares of Ulybka Radugi's parent company, Trading House 'Era'.
($1 = 106.0000 roubles)
(Reporting by Olga Popova and Alexander Marrow; editing by Jason Neely)
