The former Romanian hypermarket network PIC will be acquired by Succes NIC COM over the next three years, with monthly installment payments, after the company rented the PIC stores in Piteşti and Craiova and reopened them under the Succes brand. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

PIC's reorganization plan, drawn up by its judicial administrator PwC Romania, was approved by the company’s creditors and confirmed by the syndic judge.

PIC' hypermarkets in Oradea and Călăraşi will be reopened soon under the Succes brand, while the hypermarket in Brăila, which was not part of the current transaction, might be reopened later on, under the Succes brand, or possibly a different name.

This plan allows for the complete recovery of all the debts owned by PIC towards its former employees and the state budget. It also provides the main creditors a complete recovery of all their debt covered with real guarantees.

“The PIC insolvency file was a highly complex issue, with the total amount of debt reaching RON 333.7 million to almost 700 different creditors,” said Marius Zidaru, Director, Business Recovery Services Leader, PwC Romania.

PIC entered the insolvency procedure at the end of 2009, due to increasing debts to suppliers and a 30 percent drop in revenues for the year. In January 2010, the company decided to close all PIC hypermarkets. The PIC retail network is owned by the Penescu brothers. The Succes company belongs to Nicolae Sarcina, from Gorj county, who ranks among the country's wealthy in the Forbes chart.

editor@romania-insider.com