Tesco Kipa in talks to buy out Uyum Gıda

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

Tesco Kipa eyes expansion with a major acquisition.

Tesco Kipa, the Turkish affiliate of the giant British Tesco, has started preliminary talks to buy a majority stake in Turkish grocer Uyum Gıda, the company said in a statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange.

Uyum Gıda shares were up 6.23 percent after the statement. The company was listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange in 2011 and 30 percent of its shares are publicly traded.

At the end of September Uyum had 55 stores in the Marmara region of Turkey, with the vast majority in Istanbul and 1,850 employees.

Tesco, the world’s third largest retailer, entered the Turkish retail market in 2003 by acquiring local supermarket chain Kipa. Tesco Kipa, which currently operates 174 stores in Turkey, revealed plans before to open 70 new stores by 2013.

The possible acquisition is expected to strengthen Tesco Kipa’s presence in Istanbul. Most Tesco Kipa stores are located in the Aegean region of Turkey.

Uyum recorded more than 257 million Turkish Liras of turnover in the first nine months of the year.