Tesco Acquires HIT Hypermarkets in Poland

LONDON - UK retailer Tesco on Thursday strengthened its position in central Europe by buying a chain of 13 Polish hypermarkets, The Express reports.

Tesco said it was bound by a confidentiality agreement and could not say how much it had paid HIT Germany for the business, which also takes in a further two stores under construction. But analysts put a price tag of up to GBP 450 million ($684.5 million) on the deal.

The company is now the biggest hypermarket player in Poland. It entered the country seven years ago with the acquisition of the Savia chain, but a challenging economic environment meant the operation, which now totals 47 stores including 15 hypermarkets, took until the last financial year to move into profit.

Tesco said HIT Germany was a profitable business, generating sales of GBP 337 million ($512.6 million) in the year to last December.
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