The SaaS specialist from Frankfurt provided the virtual data room for the 2.8 billion Euro deal
Canada-based Hudson’s Bay Company, one of the foremost retail operators in North America and its longest continually operated company, and Düsseldorf-based METRO GROUP today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which HBC will acquire METRO GROUP’s department store group GALERIA Kaufhof and its Belgian subsidiary GALERIA Inno for a transaction value of €2.8 billion, including the assumption of certain liabilities. The transaction has been approved by the Board of Directors of HBC as well as the Supervisory Board of METRO AG. It is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2015.
Specifically, HBC is taking over 103 GALERIA Kaufhof stores in Germany from METRO GROUP, including 59 properties in prime inner-city locations that are part of the GALERIA Real Estate portfolio. As part of the transaction, HBC is also acquiring 16 Sportarena stores and 16 GALERIA Inno department stores located in Belgium.
As part of the Agreement, HBC will continue to operate GALERIA Kaufhof, Inno and Sportarena under their current brand banners. No significant changes, beyond those already announced by GALERIA Kaufhof, are currently anticipated with respect to the store footprints or staffing levels at any of the brand banners, and GALERIA Kaufhof will remain headquartered in Cologne.
On the software side, METRO GROUP was supported by the SaaS specialist Drooms, who provided the virtual data room for the due diligence during the complex transaction. Using the intuitive platform, different parties on the sales and purchasing sides can access the transaction-related documents, regardless of any regional constraints or different time zones.
Furthermore, additional tools and services guarantee a seamless and efficient workflow. This includes the Q&A management platform for structured question and answer processes, detailed permissions management at group and document level, and supervision by a dedicated project manager. The software solution is characterised by its high display speed and its ease of use.
