CEECAT Capital acquires a majority stake in Gomex
CEECAT Capital acquires a majority stake in Gomex, a leading grocery retailer in Serbia. Capitalizing on its strong brand and network, Gomex will accelerate its growth and market position in Serbia to emerge as a national champion in the sector.
Established in 1997 in Zrenjanin by Goran Kovacevic, Gomex is a modern retail network, focusing on the every-day fresh concept and neighborhood/convenience store format. Together with the investment from SEAF South Balkan Fund in 2007, the Company has successfully penetrated Vojvodina region as well as Central Serbia.
Today, Gomex is one of the most important employers in the country with approximately 2,500 employees. Empowering its customers and focusing on digital and data, the Company has developed tools that rewards loyalty and frequent shopping via its own loyalty application.
The investment in Gomex is CEECAT Capital’s first investment in Serbia and the fifth investment in its new fund, CEECAT Fund II. In parallel to this CEECAT Capital has set up a new office in Belgrade from which it will look to source and execute further deals in the region.
CEECAT Fund II focuses on regional champions, supporting the Fund’s themes driven by core convergence, customer orientation, export competitiveness and import substitution in the fast-growing markets of Emerging Europe.
– We look to invest into companies that have the potential to emerge as regional leaders in their core industry. Gomex has proven its capabilities with its successful penetration and leadership position in Northern Serbia. We will enhance and support the existing strong core management team and invest into the human capital backbone of Gomex to catalyze its next phase of growth. Our target is to help create the means for Gomex to fulfill its potential to emerge as the national leader in grocery retail in the neighborhood/convenience format, building on the work that Goran has done with SEAF over the past 15 years – said Anthony Stalker, Partner, CEECAT Capital.
