Sedmoi Kontinent owner Alexander Zanadvorov has purchased the Mosmart retail network, Interfax has reported. Mosmart's CEO Alexei Yevgenyev declined to comment on the deal itself, saying only that the new owner would decide whether he stays on.
The Federal Antimonopoly Service has already cleared Zanadvorov to buy Mosmart. X5 Retail Group and Auchan were reported as potential Mosmart buyers at one stage.
Mosmart now operates 16 outlets, of the 80 stores the network had in 2008. It expected revenue of RUB10 billion (USD0.32 billion) in 2010. Sberbank Capital and Bacarella Funds saved Mosmart from bankruptcy when they took control of the chain in 2009, receiving stakes of 50% plus one share and 10%, respectively. Mosmart«s founders Andrei Shelukhin and Mikhail Bezelyansky own the other 40%. Sberbank Capital chief Ashot Khachaturiants has said the Mosmart sale was one of the company»s best success stories.
