March 2026 – Kinstellar is pleased to announce that it has advised certain companies within the Schwarz Group, the leading international retail group, on their acquisition of a majority stake in Supermarket La Cocos, a dynamic and fast-growing Romanian hypercash operator, from a consortium comprising Morphosis Capital, CEECAT Capital (SEET), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and private investor Iulian Nica.
The transaction, announced in 2025, was completed following conditional clearance from the Romanian Competition Council in February 2026, after an in-depth merger control review.
The acquisition marks a significant strategic step by the companies within the Schwarz Group in expanding their presence in the Romanian market through a complementary large-format retail model, building on La Cocos’s distinctive value-driven concept.
Schwarz Group is one of the world’s largest retail groups, operating internationally through its well-known retail divisions Lidl and Kaufland. Headquartered in Germany, the group has a strong presence across Europe and other international markets.
Supermarket La Cocos is a Romanian retail chain known for its high-volume, value-driven hypercash concept. The company operates large-format stores and has recorded rapid growth in the local retail market.
Kinstellar advised on the Romanian law aspects of the transaction: legal due diligence, transaction structuring, transaction documents, as well as closing.
The team was led by Rusandra Sandu (Partner), with key support from Cristina Stamboli (Counsel) and Catalina Balus (Senior Associate) on corporate, commercial and M&A matters, and Luiza Bedros (Partner) on competition law matters. Employment aspects were handled by Andrada Popescu (Managing Associate).
Noerr acted as international lead counsel to the companies within the Schwarz Group.