The EBRD is providing a €150 million loan to Kaufland to finance the expansion of their compact discounting hypermarket format in Bulgaria and Romania.
Kaufland, owned by Germany’s Schwarz Group, is one of the leading German hypermarket operators and the number two discount retailer in Europe, operating discount stores such as Lidl and Kaufland in 25 countries.
The proceeds of the EBRD loan will be used to finance the construction and operation of 20 stores in Romania and 13 stores in Bulgaria, which will be located particularly in smaller disadvantaged towns with lower purchasing power.
The project will benefit consumers in smaller urban centres of Romania and Bulgaria by offering a wider variety of choice at competitive prices. It will also benefit local producers by supporting strong links with suppliers in Romania and Bulgaria.
“This loan is especially relevant in the current economic times. The benefits of expanding a state-of-the-art discount retail operator such as Kaufland to some of the more remote regions will result in increased competition, greater choice and more value for money,” said Gilles Mettetal, EBRD Director for Agribusiness.
In the agribusiness sector, the EBRD has directly committed more than €5 billion in over 340 projects across central and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
