Purchase control: Lenta intends to purchase OK hypermarkets
The Lenta retail chain is seriously considering buying OK hypermarkets, three sources close to the parties to the deal told Izvestia. It is at the stage of a non-binding offer and involves defining the terms between the seller and the buyer. Experts estimated it at 40-55 billion rubles. Lenta will be able to strengthen its presence in the hypermarket segment, while OK will focus on the discounter format. However, an agreement will be possible only after the Board of Directors approves the initial transaction — the sale of the Russian hypermarket business "OK" to the company's management.
Why does Lenta want to buy OK hypermarkets
The Lenta retail chain, owned by Alexey Mordashov's Severgroup, intends to buy OK hypermarkets. A source in Severgroup told Izvestia about this and was confirmed by an interlocutor close to the beneficiaries of OK Group. A top manager of one of the major retail chains also knows that such a discussion is taking place between companies.
The hypermarket purchase deal is at the stage of a Non-Binding Offer (NBO), one of Izvestia's interlocutors said. Such an offer involves defining the terms between the seller and the buyer, he explained. Representatives of Lenta and OK declined to comment.
OK Group is one of the largest food chains in Russia. The parent company of O'KEY Group S.A. is registered in Luxembourg. The first store opened in St. Petersburg in 2002. By the end of 2024, the group's retail network included 301 stores - 77 OK hypermarkets and 224 YES! discounters. The main beneficiaries of O'KEY Group S.A., which controls it, are Dmitry Troitsky (34.5%) and Boris Volchek (34.1%), according to data from the company's website. According to the results of last year, the revenue of OK Group amounted to 219.4 billion rubles, which is 5.5% more than in 2023, according to the company's IFRS statements. The company's net profit for the same period reached 2 billion rubles against a loss of 2.9 billion rubles a year earlier.
Lenta is also one of the largest retailers in Russia. The company was founded in 1993 in St. Petersburg. At the end of June 2025, it operated 268 hypermarkets, 353 supermarkets, 3,400 convenience stores and 1,798 convenience stores with a total retail area of about 2.8 million square meters. m. Lenta's revenue under IFRS in 2024 amounted to 888.3 billion rubles - 44% more than a year earlier, and net the profit is 24.5 billion against a loss of 1.8 billion in 2023, according to the financial statements.
In December 2024, the Board of Directors of OK Group decided to sell the Russian hypermarket business to the company's management. In addition to the stores, this deal also includes a trademark and logistics infrastructure, while the network of discounters "Yes!" will continue to remain under the control of the group, the company reported.
Izvestia's source in the OK Group noted that the hypermarket sale process was "somewhat delayed." According to him, the company is now awaiting the decision of the management board, which must approve the sale of hypermarkets to Russian top management. The organization intends to complete the business restructuring by the end of 2025, the source added.
The government's press service recommended that Izvestia contact the Ministry of Finance. The editorial board sent a request to this department, as well as to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Estimated transaction value
In 2024, OK hypermarkets generated about 70% of the group's total revenue. At the same time, the segment showed a decrease in popularity and weak growth dynamics compared to the "YES!" discounters. Thus, in April-June, OK's net retail revenue increased by only 1% compared to the same period last year, to 34.2 billion rubles. And the revenue of discounters increased by 12.2% over the same period, to 20.7 billion rubles, according to the retailer.
Mikhail Burmistrov, CEO of Infoline Analytics, estimated the value of the deal at 45-55 billion rubles, calling it "the most positive scenario." Gazprombank Investments Senior investment Consultant Yuri Azargaev — 40-50 billion, and head of the BGP Capital M&A department Ivan Peshkov — 54 billion, including debt.
OK has a high level of debt and extremely low net profit margin, said Yuri Azargaev. Currently, the debt of hypermarkets is about 47 billion rubles, Mikhail Burmistrov added. The purpose of the sale may be related, among other things, to reducing debt obligations, Ivan Peshkov believes.
The sale of hypermarkets will allow the company to focus on the development of discounters, said a top manager of one of the major retail chains. For Lenta, this deal will increase revenue by about 140-150 billion rubles, Yuri Azargaev added.
Market participants have been expecting this agreement for a long time, Mikhail Burmistrov said. According to him, there are currently no other applicants for the purchase of hypermarkets on the Russian market.
— Magnit is still not doing well in large formats. Auchan and Metro are international companies that cannot agree on such a deal. Therefore, Lenta will remain the only buyer, for which the hypermarket format is understandable and cost—effective," the expert explains.
Alexey Mordashov's interest in OK was observed back in the period when Lenta itself was bought from Luna Inc. (controlled by the American TPG Group) and the EBRD in 2019, a top manager of one of the major retail chains recalled.
— This strategy fits into the business scaling model through the acquisition of other retailers. Severgroup is the most active participant in retail transactions on the market today,— the Izvestia interlocutor noted.
In early June, Kommersant, citing sources, reported that Lenta was considering the possibility of acquiring hypermarkets from Magnit. This purchase fits into the company's growth strategy, including through active M&A transactions (mergers and acquisitions), said Yuri Azargaev. In the grocery retail market, this retail chain can increase its share to 0.5%, which will significantly increase the gap from its closest competitors, added Ekaterina Shchekina, Associate Director for Corporate Ratings at Expert RA agency.
At the same time, the sale of hypermarkets to an outside investor will be possible only after the withdrawal of stores from the perimeter of the OK Group, said a source close to the beneficiaries of Izvestia. Apparently, this will happen no earlier than 2026, he believes.
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