Mikhail Fridman buys 54% stake in Russian supermarket chain Pyaterochka for $1.17bn
Pyaterochka is merging with Alfa’s own supermarket chain, Perekriostok, to create the clear leader among the country’s supermarkets.
Fridman, Russia’s fourth-richest man with a fortune of $9.7 billion, was quoted as saying in a U.K. newspaper report that the growth rates in the retail sector were higher than all other sectors of the economy. “The prospects in this sector are virtually limitless,” he added. David Noble, the non-executive chairman of Pyaterochka, thinks the newly merged company will lure a foreign buyer, such as U.K. retail giant Tesco or France’s Carrefour. Fridman acknowledged this: “Of course we’re open to offers, but my gut feeling is we won’t get the right price for a few years, while the company is growing fast,”
