Kingfisher officially acquires Praktiker Romania

British group Kingfisher, the largest Do-It-Yourself retailer in Europe, has completed the acquisition of Praktiker Romania, after receiving the authorization from the Competition Council. Kingfisher will now own 41 stores in Romania. In 2013, the British group bought the Bricostore DIY network with EUR 75 million from the French group Bresson. The Bricostore units were rebranded Brico Depot. At the end of August, Kingfisher announced that it had signed an agreement to take over Praktiker Romania from Turkish investor Omar Susli, who had become the only shareholder in the company in 2014. The British group now operates 15 Brico Depot stores and 26 Praktiker stores in Romania. Praktiker Romania recorded a turnover of EUR 139.5 million last year, up 3.3% over the previous year. Its losses amounted to about EUR 2.5 million in 2016. Brico Depot had sales of EUR 146 million and EUR 8 million losses in 2016. editor@romania-insider.com