Consolidation: Romanian online retailer EvoMag takes over competitor Elefant.ro

EvoMag, a Romanian online retailer controlled by private equity fund Catalyst Romania Fund II, will take over a majority stake in local competitor Elefant.ro from Fribourg Investments.

This is one of the biggest consolidation deals in the local online retail sector, where the undisputed leader is eMAG, part of the Dutch-based Prosus group.

Known primarily as an online platform for books, Elefant is one of the biggest online retailers in Romania, with over 2 million clients. Its marketplace includes over 400 companies and a portfolio of 3 million products.

However, in 2022, Elefant Online SA recorded an 18.8% drop in sales, to RON 175 mln (EUR 35.5 mln) while its losses almost doubled to RON 27.4 mln (EUR 5.5 mln), according to the annual report posted on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Evolution Prest Systems SRL, the company that owns the EvoMag platform, had a turnover of EUR 33.3 mln and a net profit of RON 180,000 in 2021, according to public data.

Mihai Pătrașcu, founder and CEO of EvoMag, said: “EvoMag is already the largest vendor in the Elefant marketplace, and between the two companies there are important synergies that support the development of both retailers. At the same time, the eCommerce market in Romania, which has reached maturity, with over 50% of the inhabitants already familiar with online shopping, needs strong competitors. That's why we considered that a consolidation of the two operations will be beneficial both for EvoMag and elefant.ro, as well as for Romanian eCommerce users.”

Following the deal, EvoMag will own 69% of Elefant.ro and private equity fund Axxess Capital will hold a minority stake of 28%. The value and the structure of the deal were not made public and the completion is subject to approval from the Competition Council.

(Photo source: company photo)