Diona - Dalmatia has been acquired by Ribola d.o.o.

August 2013 — Dinova-Diona d.o.o. (Diona), based in Croatia, has sold Diona's 15 supermarkets located in the Dalmatia region to Ribola d.o.o. for an undisclosed consideration.

Diona - Dalmatia is the business unit of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) retail network under the Diona brand which consists of 15 supermarkets located in Dalmatia region.

Ribola d.o.o. is one of the leading FMCG retail chain in the Dalmatia region with more than 60 stores, primarily in convenient store format. It operates as a member of Ultra Group, an association of retailers with joint supply and marketing and sales activities.

Dinova-Diona d.o.o. is a FMCG retail chain with over 200 stores throughout Croatia, primarily in a supermarket format. It is ranked within the top 10 retail chains in Croatia.

Our role in the transaction

Dinova-Diona d.o.o. is one of the oldest Croatian FMCG retailers, established more than 60 years ago. Diona is owned by one of the largest meat processing companies in Croatia. The owners decided to exit the retail business and refocus on its core business.

The whole project lasted for more than a year and was successfully completed in a series of 5 separate transactions. Oaklins' team in Croatia acted as exclusive advisor to the seller in all five transactions. Our team was invited to develop several exit options and to present the best one which would satisfy most of the pre-agreed seller's goals. Following the team's analysis, Diona's retail business was divided into several business units, based on a combination of geographical and store format criteria. Some of the BU were tailor-made to best suit acquisition criteria. The business units were then directly offered to several strategic partners. The deal was structured in a way that the buyers were offered to acquire the business, in-store equipment and inventories, take over the employees, while the seller retained ownership over all the stores, which were rented to the buyers.