The American chain of coffee houses Starbucks has found a buyer for the Russian business. This is reported by Vedomosti, citing sources close to the company.
According to preliminary information, Anton Pinsky, a restaurateur and founder of Pinskiy&Co, will become the buyer. This was also confirmed to the publication by one of the businessman's acquaintances.
The deal could be closed at the end of July. The new owner will receive the right to lease all areas of Starbucks coffee shops with renovation, but will not be able to use the brand's technologies. The buyer of the network will have to carry out its rebranding by analogy with McDonald's (renamed to "Tasty – and that's it!"). In addition, the transaction involves the transfer of premises in the shopping center "Pushkino Park", which is owned by the company.
According to Mikhail Burmistrov, General Director of Infoline Analytics, the deal is unlikely to exceed 700 million rubles due to a significant discount. While the head of the CORE.XP retail department, Marina Malakhatko, believes that it can vary from 1.6 to 3 billion rubles, depending on the structure of the transaction and the package.
Burmistrov added that there is a risk of closing some coffee houses, since not all landlords will want to plant another network on these areas. It is also possible that they may offer the buyer of the Russian business less favorable lease terms.
Starbucks entered the Russian market in 2007. By February 2022, the company had 130 coffee shops nationwide. With the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the American network suspended its work on the Russian market, and at the end of May announced its withdrawal.
Anton Pinsky's Pinskiy&Co includes restaurants Avocado Queen, Medusa, Syrovarnya, Magadan, Simach, Novikov and others.