MOSCOW, RUSSIA: X5 Group, a leading Russian food retailer, announced an agreement to acquire Tamerlan, which operates the Pokupochka and PokupALKO retail chains in the Southern Federal District and the Stavropol Territory of Russia. The deal has been approved by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of the Russian Federation.

Under the transaction, X5 will acquire 100% of LLC Tamerlan – the operator of the Pokupochka discounter chain, the PokupALKO discounter chain offering a wide range of alcoholic products, and the Ga-ga supermarket chain.

The deal encompasses 295 stores with a total selling space of 124,200 square metres, mostly in the Volgograd Region. In addition, X5 will receive the lease rights to a 30,000 square metre distribution centre in the region.

Igor Shekhterman, CEO of X5 Group, commented: “X5 Group’s strategy envisages aggressive business expansion through both organic growth and M&A as well as strategic partnerships, such as the one we established last year with the Krasny Yar and Slata chains. The acquisition of Tamerlan will enable us to expand our presence in southern Russia and gain leadership in this region. At the same time, local customers will now have more opportunities to shop for a wide range of products at affordable prices at the stores of Russia’s largest retailer.”