The Austrian supermarket chain Billa have requested permission from the Russian competition authority to take over the supermarket chain Citystore. Although Citystore is specialized in the food trade the chain is run by the Turkish building company Enka Insaat.
Enka took over the chain in 2007. At that stage the chain controlled ten shopping centres and 52 supermarkets in various Russian towns. Enka had from the beginning plans to sell the supermarket chain. Some supermarkets were already rented to the French chain Auchan in the meantime. Other shops in the region had to be closed during the crisis.
Citystore still have 17 supermarkets in Moscow, of which seven are their own and ten have been rented out on long leases.
Source: www.freshplaza.com