Magnit Considers Divesting Hypermarket Chain, Lenta as a Strategic Buyer

The Russian retail leader Magnit is reportedly considering the sale of its hypermarket division, with the competing chain Lenta identified as a potential acquirer, according to the business publication Kommersant, which cited anonymous sources within the industry.

This potential transaction would complement Magnit’s strategic pivot towards smaller format stores and provide Lenta, which boasts more than 5,400 outlets, an opportunity to grow its presence without incurring the expenses associated with developing new hypermarkets.

Both Magnit and Lenta have refrained from commenting on this development.

Following the news, Lenta’s stock surged by up to 5% on the Moscow Exchange, while Magnit’s shares increased by 1.7%.

Magnit currently operates 251 hypermarkets and 195 supermarkets, which collectively represent merely 1.4% of its total 31,500 food and household goods outlets across Russia.

Kommersant noted that it remains unclear whether Magnit intends to sell its entire hypermarket network or just a segment of it, with the estimated value of the assets around 100 billion rubles (approximately $1.26 billion).

Founded in 1998, Magnit ranks as Russia’s second-largest retailer in terms of revenue and is the largest by the number of stores, holding a 13.2% share of the retail market. The company reported a 19.6% rise in revenue for 2024, exceeding 3 trillion rubles ($37.8 billion), although its net profit fell by 24.4% to 50 billion rubles.

In contrast, Lenta experienced a substantial revenue growth of 44.2% in 2024, reaching 883.3 billion rubles ($11.14 billion), with a net profit of 22.5 billion rubles.