Eroski has already found the travel companion it was looking for for Caprabo. In the end, the Basque cooperative group has fulfilled its idea of bringing in a financial partner in its Catalan supermarket chain and has not opted for a total divestment, despite having held negotiations in this regard with Bon Preu and with other operators in the sector such as Carrefour.
After many months of negotiations, the solution to strengthen and give new impetus to Caprabo has been found in Prague, in the Czech Republic, where EP Corporate Group, a company that operates in multiple sectors, is based and has agreed to purchase 50% of Caprabo and also 50% of the business that Eroski owns in the Balearic Islands. The operation will be executed through the company Supratuc 2020, which will encompass both Caprabo and the activity in the Balearic Islands and where Eroski and EP Corporate Group will have an equal stake. Supratuc 2020 controls the 107 own supermarkets and 72 franchised supermarkets that Eroski owns in the islands and the 213 own supermarkets and 80 franchises of Caprabo, that is, a total of 472 points of sale, around a third of Eroski's network. The operation affects 8,200 workers.
The amount of the purchase has not been disclosed, but it could exceed 250 million euros, an amount that will help Eroski pay the bank 350 million this year to comply with the debt refinancing agreement, which in 2019 amounted to 1,500 million. "The operation allows Eroski to improve its financial position and fulfill the debt amortization commitment set for the end of this year, in an amount higher than that committed with financial institutions and will boost the relaunch of investments and activity in Catalonia with the Caprabo brand and in the Balearic Islands with the Eroski brand," the chain reported in a statement.
With revenues of more than 10,000 million euros, Caprabo's new Czech partner is a group controlled by businessman Daniel Křetínský that operates in the energy sector, food distribution, media, e-commerce and real estate. This investment conglomerate is the reference shareholder of the German Metro group and is also a shareholder of the British chain Sainsbury's and the French Casino group. Křetínský had been analyzing the possibility of entering the Spanish distribution market for some time and has now found the opportunity.
"This transaction marks an important step for EP Corporate Group. We are excited to accompany Eroski in its business in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, where strong brands with very attractive potential operate. We value their organization and fully support their expansion plan in these markets. We hope to contribute with our experience and resources to boost their development," said the CEO of EP Global Commerce, Marco Arcelli.
For his part, the president of Eroski, Agustín Markaide, highlighted that this operation "allows strengthening" the cooperative's resources and increasing its investment capacity, in addition to "fulfilling debt amortization commitments, as we have been doing punctually." "It represents an stimulus due to EP Corporate Group's confidence in our future project, since this agreement starts with a management and development plan accepted by both parties, which will allow the consolidation of our markets, the reinforcement of our commercial position and its profitability. The pulling capacity that our business has shown, even internationally, during the process of searching for a partner confirms that our activity and plans for the future are going in the right direction," Markaide detailed.
Caprabo has a network of 213 own supermarkets, 80 franchises and employs 5,700 people. This year it has opened new corporate offices and has moved its headquarters from L'Hospitalet to the Logistics Activities Zone (ZAL) of El Prat de Llobregat, where it has launched a new warehouse that centralizes all distribution of fresh products and its online supermarket. In parallel to the progressive implementation of a new store model, the historic Catalan supermarket chain is immersed in a growth plan through franchises. Caprabo invoiced 790 million euros in 2019, 13% less after having concentrated its business in Catalonia and Andorra.
Eroski bought Caprabo from the Botet, Carbó and Elías families in 2007, just before the financial crisis, for a price that exceeded 1,300 million euros.