Dragon Capital Advises on First-Ever Merger of Home Appliance & Electronics Retailers in Ukraine
Kyiv, July 25, 2007 – Dragon Capital, Ukraine’s largest investment bank, has helped realize the merger of household appliances and electronics retailers Byttehnika and Comfy, creating the country’s third-largest domestic appliance and electronics chain. The combined company will have annual revenues of more than $300m and boast a 12% market share.
Final details of the merger, which is the first of its kind on the Ukrainian household appliance and electronics market, should be completed by October 2007, with all details to be made public then. Dragon Capital is advising on the merger and will continue to work with the newly formed company to raise capital for its expansion.
“Our deal signifies the beginning of active consolidation on Ukraine’s household appliance and electronics market,” Byttehnika owner Svetlana Hutsul said. “The combined resources of Byttehnika and Comfy will make the united company a stronger market competitor, increasing the effectiveness and value of the business and allowing us to provide our customers with a wider range of goods.”
“Byttehnika and Comfy target the same clients and position themselves identically on the market, with their focus being to provide high-quality service. Thanks to that, and also due to being located in the same areas, we expect to finalize the merger very soon,” said Comfy owner Stanislav Ronis.
The owners of Byttehnika and Comfy will sit on the Supervisory Board of the united company and appoint a new management team.
“Our aim is to strengthen our leading position in the cities where the (new) company is present and to develop a nationwide network. As a result of the planned regional expansion, we expect to increase our market share to 20%,” said Gennadiy Verbilenko, the general director of the newly united company. “We are planning to invest not only into opening new shops, but also into new technologies, personnel development and customer service.
“The driving force for us is to make our customers feel like #1. We continually strive to increase our client base by providing the best possible customer service.”
The joint network, which will total nearly 60 shops in 10 regions in the south, center and east of the country, will operate under a single brand.
ABOUT THE COMPANIES:
The Byttehnika (www.byttehnika.ua) chain was created in 1992 and currently has 29 shops in 17 cities in Donetsk and Luhansk regions as well as in Crimea.
The Comfy (www.comfy.com.ua) retail network entered the market at the beginning of 2006 and now consists of 26 stores in 13 cities, representing Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhya, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Poltava and Mykolayiv regions.
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