The owner of the Russian business Reebok and the owner of the Dubai Mall can buy out Decathlon assets in our country

The Turkish company FLO Retailing and the Lebanese Azadea Group are negotiating the acquisition of the business of the French chain Decathlon in Russia. This was told to Vedomosti by two real estate consultants and confirmed by one of the retailer’s partners. According to them, two variants of the deal are currently being considered. The first is the buyout of the entire Russian network by the investor and the relaunch of Decathlon stores according to the franchising model, the second is the same, but with the closure of some outlets.

Now there are active negotiations of the Mullier family (owns a holding, which, in addition to Decathlon, includes Leroy Merlin and Auchan) with potential buyers, Vedomosti’s interlocutors say. They believe that the deal, if it is closed, is not until the fall of this year. Whether there are other contenders for Decathlon’s assets in Russia is unknown. One of the consultants knows that some Middle Eastern franchisees of the company came to see the retail and warehouse real estate of the network in our country. But he did not name them. Representatives of FLO Retailing, Azadea Group and Decathlon did not respond to Vedomosti’s inquiries.