CMS has advised Ahold Delhaize (“Ahold Delhaize”) on the completion of its acquisition of leading Romanian grocery retailer Profi Rom Food S.R.L. (“Profi”) from MidEuropa, in a transaction worth approximately EUR 1.3bn. The deal was signed and announced in October 2023 and has recently received the approval of the Romanian Competition Council.

Ahold Delhaize is one of the world’s largest food retail groups and a leader in both supermarkets and e-commerce. The group owns 16 local brands and over 7,700 local stores, serving over 63 million shoppers every week in Europe, the United States and Asia.

Managing Partner of CMS Romania and Head of CEE Corporate M&A Horea Popescu says, “We are delighted to have been at Ahold Delhaize’s side throughout this acquisition, and to assist the team to reach completion. Our role on this transaction underscores yet again the strength of our expertise in managing such complex projects. This landmark deal sends a strong signal that the Romanian food retail market continues to attract large investors.”

Senior Counsel of CMS Romania Claudia Nagy adds: “It’s been a privilege to work together with the teams within Ahold Delhaize and Mega Image to close this complex acquisition. Our unrivalled multidisciplinary know-how and expertise means that we were ideally placed to deliver comprehensive legal support and ensure that our client achieves their business objective.”

The multidisciplinary CMS team advising Ahold Delhaize was led by Horea Popescu and Claudia Nagy (Corporate and M&A) on Romanian law matters and Eva Talmacsi (Corporate and M&A, CMS UK) on English law matters, with invaluable support from partner Roxana Fratila (Real Estate), and counsel Raluca Ionescu (Corporate and M&A). The wider team included more than 10 other lawyers from the Romanian and UK offices.

About CMS

Founded in 1999, CMS is an integrated, multi-jurisdictional organisation of law firms that offers full-service legal and tax advice. With 85 offices in 48 countries across the world and more than 6,300 lawyers, CMS has long-standing expertise both in advising in its local jurisdictions and across borders. From major multinationals and mid-caps to enterprising start-ups, CMS provides the technical rigour, strategic excellence and long-term partnership to keep each client ahead in its chosen markets.

The CMS member firms provide a wide range of expertise across 19 practice areas and sectors, including Corporate / M&A, Energy & Climate Change, Funds, Life Sciences & Healthcare, TMC, Tax, Banking & Finance, Commercial, Antitrust, Competition & Trade, Dispute Resolution, Employment & Pensions, Intellectual Property and Real Estate.