Jumbo eyes bond to fund foreign expansion

Jumbo, Greece’s biggest listed retailer, is considering issuing a convertible bond to raise up to 250 million euros to finance foreign expansion.

Despite seven years of austerity in Greece, Jumbo has fared well thanks to its low-cost products and rapid growth in its operations in Romania and Bulgaria.

Jumbo will use the proceeds from the bond to finance its expansion in Romania and boost cash, Chairman Apostolos Vakakis told an institutional investors meeting on Wednesday.

In a bourse filing this week, it called a shareholders meeting on November 8 to decide on the bond.

The retailer operates 51 stores in Greece and 22 in Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania. It plans to open 17 stores in Romania, two in Greece and one in Bulgaria in the next five years.

[Reuters]