Viktoria granted approval to acquire Semeynaya Kopilka

Viktoria, a Russian retailer and operator of chains such as Deshevo, Kvartal and Viktoria, has been granted the approval of the Federal Russian Antimonopoly Service (FAS) to proceed with its acquisition of Morgan i Kompania, the owner of the Tula-based retail chain Semeynaya Kopilka. The deal is estimated to be worth as much as RUB 2bn ($64.6m) although it should be noted that Viktoria continues to talk to other potential acquisition targets. A final decision is to be taken in mid-August. In February 2010, Viktoria has been looking to acquire a regional Russian grocery retailer and, at the time was reportedly in talks with six retail chains. The company was searching for smaller, regional players, with annual turnovers ranging from $200m to $300m. What’s more, Viktoria was seeking to acquire a retailer that operated a format that it itself did not. There are currently 40 Semeynaya Kopilka convenience stores in Tula and the chain generated revenues of RUB 3.37bn ($108.8m) in 2009. www.retail.ru