B&M acquires French retail chain Babou
B&M has announced that it has acquired Paminvest SAS, the discount general merchandise retailer group that operates a chain of 95 stores under the Babou fascia in France.
With the €91.2 million deal completed by B&M’s subsidiary EV Retail, it included B&M’s refinancing of Babou’s debt.
For the year to 31 January 2018, Babou delivered revenue of €347.1 million and EBITDA of €24.7 million. Meanwhile, pre-tax profit was €0.1 million.
Babou’s stores are predominantly situated in out of town sites with an average of 27,000 square feet of retail space, compared to B&M’s UK average of 19,500 square feet. B&M said the acquisition will enable it to develop and grow its value retail model in France.
Babou was led by Thierry Morter who has retired from the business as part of the transaction and has been succeeded by Cedric Mahieu as chief executive. Mahieu has been employed by B&M since January 2018 and has been working with the B&M team to develop the integration plan for Babou.
B&M bought Babou from PIM Participations SAS, a private family owned investment company in France.
At the same time as the transaction, Babou has acquired a third-party distribution services provider from Logitex Sarl and Terrealame.
Simon Arora, chief executive of B&M, said: “B&M has made no secret of its European growth plans since its IPO in 2014. We are delighted that discussions with Babou over a three-year period have led to today’s transaction, which provides us with a platform for future growth in a large and attractive market whilst also providing a stable and logical new owner for Babou.”
