Migros sells store chain Depot
Migros Group sells its shares in the home furnishings chain Depot to the previous CEO.
The previous managing director and minority shareholder Christian Gries became the sole owner of Gries Deco Group (GDG), which operates Depot-branded home furnishings stores, on December 13, 2019.
Gries has acquired the 90% stake in Gries Deco Holding and the 100% stake in Depot CH AG from the Migros Group in a management buyout. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price or the terms of the transaction. However, Migros says it will refrain from reclaiming the loans granted to GDC since 2009. This will burden the group result in 2019 in the order of CHF 400 million.
GDG operates a total of 500 depot stores in the DACH region, of which 38 are in Switzerland, 60 in Austria and 402 in Germany. Sales in 2018 amounted to 481 million euros (around CHF 525 million).
Migros had announced in the summer that it was looking for new owners for Gries Deco Group, Interio and Globus, among others. While Interio and Depot have now been sold, the sales process for the Globus Group is still underway, according to a Migro statement. The sale is expected to be completed in the first half of 2020. (ah)
