Femsa moves into Europe with $1.2BN acquisition of Valora

Valora will continue to operate under its own company name, becoming the retail arm of FEMSA’s Proximity Division in Europe.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (FEMSA), the largest operator of convenience stores in Latin America, agreed to buy Switzerland’s Valora for up to $1.2 billion to push into the European market.

The agreement will see FEMSA paying CHF260.00 a share ($270.30) for one of the leading foodvenience platforms with convenience stores and food service operations in Switzerland, Germany and other European countries.

Valora will accelerate the development of European markets as the European retail affiliate within FEMSA’s Proximity Division.

“As the largest franchise bottler by volume in the global Coca-Cola system, as well as the second largest shareholder of Heineken, we are fortunate to have close business relationships with many of the leading consumer products companies in the world. Now we are joining forces with Valora to become one of the leading convenience and food service platforms in Europe, serving the needs of an increasingly mobile and digital clientele,” says Carlos Arenas, CEO of FEMSA’s Proximity Division.

FEMSA operates 20,000 convenience stores, including the OXXO brand, in Mexico and Latin America, as well as more than 3,600 pharmacies in four Latin American countries, and controls the largest franchise bottler of Coca-Cola products in the world in terms of sales volume (Coca-Cola FEMSA).

The two companies expect the envisaged growth in Europe to create a significant number of new and attractive employment opportunities in Switzerland and other European countries.

“FEMSA and Valora complement each other very well with their growth-oriented strategies in the convenience store and food service businesses, capacity for innovation, and digitalisation philosophy,” comments Valora CEO Michael Mueller on the planned transaction with FEMSA.

The 2,700 small-scale points of sale of Valora are located at highly frequented locations in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The company includes, among others, k kiosk, Brezelkönig, BackWerk, Ditsch, Press & Books, avec, Caffè Spettacolo and the popular own brand ok.