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Advance Capital is pleased to announce the sale of Moll, one of the largest grocery retailers in the Chelyabinsk region operating under the Molniya and SPAR brands, to Lenta.

The Molniya retail chain was founded in 2005 and was among the pioneers of modern grocery retail in Chelyabinsk. According to SPARK, the company’s revenue increased by 12% year-on-year in 2024, reaching RUB21 billion.

As part of the deal, Lenta acquired five hypermarkets, 18 supermarkets and 49 SPAR-branded convenience stores, as well as three distribution centers.

The deal represents an important step in Lenta’s strategy to further transform into a multi-format player in the Russian retail market. The acquisition strengthens Lenta’s position in the Central Urals, where Moll ranks fifth by revenue among regional retailers. Moll operates 72 stores across three formats: hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores. Lenta sees strong growth and margin expansion opportunities in each of these formats. The deal will also support Lenta’s strategic objective of reaching RUB1 trillion in revenue by the end of 2025.

Evgeny Antipov, Partner and Managing Director at Advance Capital:

“We are pleased with the successful completion of this deal with our involvement. Against the backdrop of active consolidation in the grocery retail sector, we expect to see further successful transactions, including those involving food producers, supported by the efforts of our team.”

Advance Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Moll.

The deal value is not disclosed.