St-Petersburg, Russia; 27 October, 2014 – Lenta, (LSE, MOEX: LNTA) one of the largest retail chains in Russia, announces that it has agreed to acquire three hypermarkets in Central Russia.
Lenta has agreed to purchase three Bimart hypermarkets in Central Russia, and has obtained the requisite consent of Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS). The transaction will be funded by existing cash resources; it is expected to close in December 2014.

Bimart started business in 2003 and currently operates two hypermarkets, located in the cities of Ivanovo, which has a population of 410,000 inhabitants, and Vladimir, which has a population of 350,000 inhabitants. A third hypermarket, located in Ivanovo, is in process of fitting out. Both Ivanovo and Vladimir are underpenetrated by modern grocery retail and have large middle-class populations with demographic profiles which match well with Lenta’s offering. The three stores will be served by Lenta’s Distribution Centre in the Moscow region.

Each of the three stores enjoys an urban, strategic location. The two buildings in Ivanovo have total areas of 13,052 sq.m. and 13,152 sq.m. of which Lenta hypermarkets will occupy approximately 6,400 sq.m. of selling space in each store. The store in Vladimir has total area of 19,106 sq.m. of which the Lenta hypermarket selling space will be 9,800 sq.m. Additionally, over 9,200 sq.m of the stores will be leased out to various supplementary outlets.

Lenta’s Chief Executive Officer, Jan Dunning said:
“We have a very successful organic expansion strategy at Lenta, which may occasionally be supplemented by the acquisition of excellent assets such as Bimart when they become available.

The Bimart stores will strengthen our presence in the Central region to 17 hypermarkets, and upon the completion of the transaction they will provide Lenta with a presence in Ivanovo and Vladimir for the first time. The two well-established Bimart stores in Ivanovo and Vladimir have a leading position in their respective marketplaces, which is in keeping with Lenta’s strategy to target a top two position in every city, while the second store in Ivanovo has excellent potential.

The stores are very similar to Lenta in terms of their set-up and discounting approach, and each will be operated under the Lenta brand upon completion. We are also delighted to be inheriting a very well trained and effective store management team, who we expect to integrate smoothly into the Lenta organization.

Lenta remains on track to open 24 hypermarkets and 15 supermarkets in 2014 and we maintain our long-term target to double net selling space over the three years to December 2016.”

About Lenta
Lenta is one of the largest retail chains in Russia and the country’s second largest hypermarket chain (in terms of 2013 sales). The Company was founded in 1993 in St. Petersburg. Lenta operates 87 hypermarkets in 50 cities across Russia and 18 supermarkets in Moscow and the Moscow region, with a total of approximately 571,762 sq.m. of selling space. The average Lenta hypermarket store has selling space of approximately 6,400 sq.m. The Company operates four hypermarket distribution centres.

The Company’s price-led hypermarket formats are differentiated in terms of their promotion and pricing strategies as well as their local product assortment. The Company employed approximately 27,800 people as of 31 December 2013.

The Company’s management team combines a mix of local knowledge and international expertise coupled with extensive operational experience in Russia. Lenta’s largest shareholders include TPG Capital, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and VTB Capital Private Equity, all of whom are committed to maintaining high standards of corporate governance. Lenta is listed on the London Stock Exchange and on the Moscow Exchange and trades under the ticker: ‘LNTA’.

A brief video summary on Lenta’s business can be seen here.

For further information please visit www.lentainvestor.com, or contact:

Lenta
Anna Meleshina, Director of Public Relations and Government Affairs
+7 812 363 28 53
Anna.Meleshina@lenta.com

Albert Avetikov, Director of Investor Relations
+7 812 363 28 44
Albert.Avetikov@lenta.com

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