Banking loans support Carrefour expansion

Hiproma, the French company controlling the Carrefour hypermarkets in Romania, has contracted a syndicated loan worth 50 million euros from four banks in Romania – BRD-Groupe Societe Generale, ING Bank, Raiffeisen and Volksbank. The company will use the money to expand on the retail market.

The transaction, which involved a loan granted to a private company and therefore did not need a State guarantee, was the first operation of this size, which could practically give birth to a very appealing market niche for banks.

The loan was granted for a 7-year period and was brokered by BRD-Groupe Societe Generale, which was, in fact, the banking consortium leader.

Details about the amount granted by each of the four banks or the costs involved have not been disclosed, as the officials of the banks are extremely discreet.

“Groupe Societe Generale is the international partner of choice for the Carrefour and Hyparlo groups. This is the first syndicated lending operation of this size, granted to a private company and not secured by the Romanian State,” Patrick Gelin, general director of BRD-Groupe Societe Generale said. Marinel Burduja, vice-president of Raiffesisen Bank Romania, finds the transaction to be “a typical example of banking cooperation and professionalism and it shows, at the same time, that significant investments in Romania may result from cooperation with the banks”.

Hiproma is 50%-50% controlled by the Carrefour group and its main franchisee, French group Hyparlo, which also provides the management. Hiproma operates two hypermarkets in Bucharest, in Militari and Orhideelor areas. Hiproma’s turnover exceeded 75 million euros in the nine months this year.

“Our purpose is to build five hypermarkets in Bucharest, as well as in the cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants, so that the total number of our stores in Romania can revolve around 20,” Hiproma’s executive director Francois Olivier said.

oana.nuta@zf.ro ; ionut.bonoiu@zf.ro