Metro Tries to Sell and Lease Back its Properties in Romania and Bulgaria

Goldman Sachs was mandated by German retailer Metro, to find a buyer for real estate owned by the company in Romania and Bulgaria.

The company, which owns 30 cash & carry stores, is looking to sell the real estate business, and rent the premises to continue operations. Metro owns in Romania around 190,000 sqm at a value estimated at EUR 400-600 million, in the context of a store (construction and land) costs EUR 15-20 million.

Ziarul Financiar has written about a year ago about the idea of ​​the Germans to restructure their local business, more precisely to separate their real estate division from the commercial division to sell it first.

The move would mark a change in Metro Cash & Carry's operating mode, the player who opened up the modern local commerce market in 1996. The initial business model of the Germans was based on land acquisition and ownership of the shops, but it seems that model will change.

The Germans at Metro Cash & Carry owns 30 stores in Romania with around 4,000 employees and sales of more than EUR 1 billion.