Eurobuild Awards

Acquisition of 21 Norauto’s retail buildings by TERG, the Media Expert operator

CATEGORY
Investment Deal of the Year, CEE
The year 2020 – a global pandemic outbreak and repeated lockdowns are putting more and more sectors of the economy into lockdown. The network of garages and car accessory stores developed in Poland under the Norauto brand has already been facing financial difficulties for some time. The pandemic further exacerbates these problems when vehicle traffic is decreasing. On the other hand, the household appliances sector is flourishing in the home office era, responding to the purchasing needs of people working at home. INWI, a superior company focused exclusively on land and building investment in Poland, the sole mediator, quickly identifies the situation among sectors and initiates contact with an investor completely unrelated to the automotive industry. Media Expert, a Polish family company specializing in the sale of electronic and household appliances, enters negotiations. Discussions involving INWI allow to smoothly finalize the entire transaction. Media Expert decides to take over the whole portfolio of sale and service points of NORAUTO, which accepts a beneficial offer. This way, perfectly located service points pass from the hands of the French, to a family, native brand. Parties to the transaction take into account the human factor – Media Expert takes over some of Norauto employees. One of the requirements for a successful acquisition is to obtain approval of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, which was received. As a result of efforts undertaken by INWI, the transaction that initially no one even considered, is finalized at the beginning of December 2020, when the preliminary contract is signed. The final contract closing the transaction is signed at the end of February 2021 In a fast-paced, rapidly changing world, INWI, acting quickly and precisely, taking up the challenge, perfectly identifies the situation and finds a solution for it. Converting the use of the property proves to be the key to success.
Name of the deal
Acquisition of 21 Norauto’s retail buildings by TERG, the Media Expert operator
The date of closing the deal
February 2021
Value of the transaction (in EUR)
Non-disclosed
Yield
Non-disclosed
Seller, plus brief information about the company
Norauto is a brand belonging to Mobivia, a French company group which is organized around 3 business lines: services to drivers, distribution of parts and tires and new mobility. Mobivia generated a turnover of EUR 3.1 billion.
Consultancy which advised Seller
INWI as a mediator and coordinator
Purchaser, plus brief information about the company
Media Expert is a brand belonging to Terg, is a Polish company group which owns leading brands from the electronics and household appliance sector, among others Media Expert, Elektro.pl, Avans. Media Expert is a dynamically developing network of electronics stores, present in the Polish market for more than 10 years. Media Expert is the largest electronics and household appliances network in Poland – it includes more than 530 electronics stores in almost 440 towns throughout Poland. Terg generated a turnover of EUR 2.1 billion.
Consultancy which advised Purchaser
INWI as a mediator and coordinator
Financing institution
None
Current occupancy level
None
Please say why this deal should be considered for the award
The uniqueness of the Norauto stores takeover transaction completed by TERG SA is visible in many of its aspects, starting from the idea itself. This transaction, which was not taken into account before it was initiated by INWI representatives, was carried out smoothly and with beneficial effects for all the parties, meeting the highest business and ethical standards. The transaction primarily involved the sales of buildings – 21 top locations throughout Poland at its largest cities. It included the transfer of employees, assignment of rental contracts and assignment of rights to IT programs. As a result of the transaction, Norauto points of service, which boast perfect locations, sited within large retail parks or directly next to large shopping centers, still continue to provide services. With the number of vacant buildings still growing, the use of large area locations constitutes both a boost for the economy and a benefit for the local community.