Tesco Plc, the U.K.’s largest retailer, bought 128 Zabka and Koruna convenience stores in the Czech Republic for 1.02 billion koruna ($52.8 million) to cement its position in the eastern European nation.
The acquisition from Penta Investments Ltd., a central European private equity firm, is subject to regulatory approval, Eva Karasova, a spokeswoman for Tesco, said from Prague.
Tesco had sales of 1.28 billion pounds ($1.97 billion) in the Czech Republic in the last fiscal year, making the country its fifth-largest in Europe by revenue.
The 47 Koruna stores and 81 Zabka franchised kiosks will bolster Tesco’s Express format, the retailer said. The U.K. company has 173 outlets in the Czech Republic, where the grocery market is worth $50 billion a year.
