EGYPT – Zahran Market, Egyptian retail supermarket chain, has agreed to offload 60% its stake to private equity firm Ezdehar Management, to spearhead its future growth plan.
Zahran Market, founded in 1987 as a family business, is accredited for being the first chain to open supermarket outlets in North Coast in 1997. Currently it boasts of operating 16 branches in 7 governorates across Egypt.
In 2016, the company kick-off a transformational programme and embarked on an expansion and institutionalization plan which includes the opening of 8 new branches in the Delta region.
They also rebranded, renovated the existing branches and developed a strategic partnership plan, among other initiatives.
Moreover, the company is now looking forward to implementing an expansion plan that will increase its footprint in every region in which it operates, in addition to its endeavour to explore new areas in Egypt.
“We are excited to be joining forces with Ezdehar to continue our vision in growing the Zahran Market brand across Egypt.
“This partnership comes as an affirmation of the confidence in the company’s performance in the past period, along with our shared vision of the company’s growth prospects,” said CEO of Zahran Market Karim Zahran.
Without disclosing the invested amount, Ezdehar has acquired the majority stake through its Mid-Cap Fund II that is focused on supporting mid-cap companies undergoing transformative growth.
The fund has backing from international investors including, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the International Finance Corporation, British International Investment, FMO, the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries and the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund.
“Zahran Market’s management team has extensive experience in the retail industry and have managed a successful growth plan over the past 5 years.
“We look forward to this partnership and for us to provide the necessary support to develop the company’s management and systems in order to become one of the leaders in the sector,” said Amir Mishriky, Managing Director at Ezdehar.
Compass Capital acted as the financial adviser to the shareholders of Zahran Market LLC, while Matouk Bassiouni and Hennawi provided legal advice. On the other side, Adsiro Raji Soliman & Co. provided legal advice to Ezdehar, while P.W.C acted as the financial adviser.
The Egyptian grocery retail sector which is still dominated by a large number of small family-run stores, had total revenues of US$60.1 billion in 2020, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.3% between 2016 and 2020, according to Research and Markets.
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