July 14, 2014 01:05 
The Austrian Do It Yourself chain bauMax has reached an agreement for selling its domestic chain comprising 15 stores to French-based Adeo Group, the sale, whose price has not been disclosed, being concluded through a “share deal” transaction, pending competition approval.
Popovici Nitu & Asociatii has assisted the French party in this transaction, while Noerr acted as legal advisor of bauMax.
The stores, subject of this transaction, are located in Bucharest (2), Bacau, Brasov, Constanta, Craiova, Cluj Napoca (2), Iasi, Pitesti, Ploiesti, Sibiu, Suceava, Targu-Mures and Timisoara.
Adeo Group is the leading French player in the international DIY market, controlling Leroy Merlin chain, among others, which is also present in Romania with a unit in Bucharest.
The Austrian company has initiated a restructuring process following a major expansion in Eastern Europe and Turkey, markets which have negatively influenced bauMax’s financial results in the last years. In 2012, the most recent one for which financial reports are available, the loss of the DIY company went up to 126 million euro, from 47.2 million euro in 2012.
