German DIY chain OBI and the Supernova development group have agreed to take over the Austrian DIY chain Baumax. The transaction, worth €200m, includes 14 Baumax hypermarkets in Slovakia, five in the Czech Republic, two in Slovenia and 49 in Austria. OBI will continue operating 70 of its 106 Baumax hypermarkets but has not revealed what it plans to do with the rest. Austrian developer Supernova is buying 40 properties from Baumax, which has been struggling for years, and will lease them to OBI. In 2013, Baumax reported a loss of €189m. Baumax already offloaded its operations in Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Turkey and Hungary.
